Date: May 20, 2009
Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Venue: Dusit Thani, Makati City.
World Competitiveness Yearbook 2009 Results:
A Look at Philippine Performance Amidst the Global Crisis
Summary
2009 marks the 13th year of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center’s (APC) engagement as a Partner-Institute of the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD) for the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY). The yearbook is reputed as being the worldwide reference point on the competitiveness of nations, ranking and analyzing how an economy manages the totality of its resources and competencies to increase the prosperity of its population. Over the years, it has been a key reference of investors, analysts, and decision-makers in assessing country performance.
The APC, in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), conducted a press conference launching the results of WCY 2009 with the theme of Looking at the Philippine Performance amidst the Global Crisis. It was slated 20 May 2009 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Meeting Room 5 of Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati.
World Competitiveness Yearbook 2009 Results
Prof. Ma. Lourdes Sereno, Executive Director of APC, commenced the program by introducing a short video of Prof. Stephane Garelli, Director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center, showing the world competitiveness scoreboard and announcing that the United States still maintained its No.1 position out of the 57 economies analyzed in WCY despite the crisis and the dramatic headline news touching the country.
But how did our country fare in the world competitiveness ranking? Prof. Sereno reported that the Philippines slipped 3 notches and now ranks 43rd among 57 countries despite an increase in its raw score from 50.48 in 2008 to 54.49 this year. The result can be partially attributed to the inclusion of two new participating countries this year - Qatar (rank 14) and Kazakhstan (rank 36) - and the 9-notch climb of Indonesia.
The Philippine’s performance in terms of the WCY four factor rankings demonstrated gloomy results: economic performance went down from 42 to 51; government efficiency from 41 to 42; business efficiency from 31 to 32; and infrastructure dropping from 48 to 56.
In analyzing the peaks and valleys of the Philippine competitiveness landscape, it showed that the strengths of the country are anchored on its labor market (5), fiscal policy (13), prices (14), and societal framework (20). But much needs to be done, especially in improving the international investment (56), public finance (54), business legislation (50), productivity and efficiency (53), basic and scientific infrastructure (57 and 56 respectively), and education (54).
In terms of looking at peer-group ranking, Prof. Sereno underscored that in the race of the 13 Asia-Pacific economies covered in the study, the Philippines now lagged at the bottom, outpaced by Indonesia for the first time since 1997. Further, the Philippines is in the bottom among the same group of countries with population greater than 20 million (18th position) and also in those whose GDP per capita are less than $20,000 (17th position).
The APC put forward the following key challenges for the country this year:
1. Strengthen the domestic markets to moderate impact of export slowdown.
2. Implement a cohesive policy agenda to address job-skills mismatch.
3. Address energy shortfall, emphasizing integrated strategic planning and good governance practices.
4. Better alignment of national regulatory policies with local reform initiatives to improve local business environment.
5. Alleviate hunger and poverty to improve long-term competitiveness of human resources.
Prof. Sereno ended her presentation by highlighting the results of the Stress Test on Competitiveness, a new feature added in this year’s edition of WCY which evaluates how well countries are equipped to fare through the crisis and improve their competitiveness in the near future. The Philippines placed 32nd out of 57 economies, suggesting that we are relatively better equipped to weather the crisis.
Public-Private Sector Response
In response to the results of the rankings, Ambassador Donald Dee, Special Envoy to the International Trade, pointed out that there is a need for a common political ground and proper handling of population management in battling the country’s increasing population growth. He emphasized that there is a need for stronger private sector-driven reforms to improve investors’ confidence as well as coherence and consistency in national and local policies. Likewise, the energy and power sectors should be reformed to put an end to monopolistic behavior in the sector. Lastly, Ambassador Dee stressed that the result of the rankings should not be perceived as underperformance of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) because the institutions which are required to cooperate and provide support to NCC have undermined the role it plays in policy reform and planning.
Ambassador Cesar B. Bautista shared that some of the competitiveness gaps were already zeroed in by the NCC’s six priority groups. He highlighted that jobs-skills mismatch is also being addressed now by the NCC. On education, he noted that the proficiency in English has improved, however that much has to be done in improving science and technology in the country. On efficiency and governance, Ambassador Bautista pushed for simpler and transparent processes and continuity across political administrations. He also spoke on national-local governance, emphasizing that local government units should improve its efficiency and service, specifically in business permit licensing. Ambassador Bautista reiterated the need to develop the local and domestic economy.
To conclude the press conference, Prof. Sereno underlined three points in relation to APC’s response to the WCY 2009 results:
1. The study allows the country to focus and have a benchmark to move to specific directions.
2. It allows the policy-makers to justify the allocation of resources it is going to make.
3. A ranking study of this kind spurs the country to do better and keep fighting to improve Philippine competitiveness.
Links:
1. RP Slips in Competitiveness List by BusinessWorld2. PGMA, Cabinet, business leaders happy over result of RP’s resiliency stress test by Joel C. Atencio, Positive News Media
3. RP’s global competitiveness drops 3 notches by Riziel Cabreros, ABS-CBN News
4. RP competitiveness nears the bottom by Irma Isip, Malaya
5. Philippines at the bottom of competitiveness in Asia by Manila Shimbun
6. Legacy of Gloria by The Daily Tribune
