Leapfrogging to higher economic growth (2)

INVESTMENTS and in the case of the Philippines, foreign investments, is a big factor in driving economic growth. Unfortunately, for the past many years, the country has been behind most of our neighbor countries in attracting foreign investments. This low performance is a major reason why the Philippines has lagged behind most of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations members in historical economic growth. We simply have not been competitive.

There are several reasons why we have not been competitive. The major one, I believe, is the cost of doing business in the country is comparatively higher. I have discussed the more significant of these higher costs in first part of this article (Manila Times, July 26, 2021) in this commentary series. These are: the cost effects of the business interruptions and damage brought about by the regularly occurring typhoons; the inadequate, slow and therefore, high cost of transport; the comparatively high cost of labor; and the high cost of electricity. I also summarized my plans to lower these costs, the implementation of which will necessarily stretch over time.