Date: 19 July 2006
Time: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Venue: Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, Philippines
The State of Philippine Competitiveness 2006
The Creative Industries – Interplay of Art, Business and Innovation
2006 marks the 10th year of the AIM Policy Center’s engagement as Partner-Institute to the Institute of Management Development (IMD) for the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY).
The WCY analyzes and ranks the ability of economies and regions (61 as of the 2006 edition) to create and maintain an environment that has the most efficient structures, institutions and policies that encourage the competitiveness of enterprises. It has also become a worldwide reference point on statistics and opinion data that guide policy-makers, analysts and investors in decision-making.
Throughout our decade-long tracking and monitoring for the WCY, we have seen that the challenges underlying the Philippines’ competitiveness, or the lack of it, are recurring and, on the whole, remain unchanged – in the areas of infrastructure, governance, education, population management and transaction costs.
In basic infrastructure, the Philippines ranked last among all the economies and regions owing to the relatively inadequate roads, railroads, air and water transportation as well as high cost of energy. In education, the country ranked last in terms of pupil-teacher ratio in secondary school. This is, in no small measure, due to the relatively low public funding expended for education. Where the WCY average for annual total public expenditure on education was 4.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Philippines registered a much lower 2.8%.
The country ranked 60th in terms of the dependency ratio, or the proportion of the population aged below 15 and over 64 relative to those of working age (15 – 64). The high dependency ratio invariably has long-term implications on the country’s ability to provide for adequate goods and services to meet the population’s needs.
In the area of governance, the Philippines is perceived to be failing in terms of: political stability, stamping out bribery and corruption, guaranteeing competition and freeing the public service from political interference. In transaction costs, a particularly telling indicator is the number of days it takes to start a business in the country – 89 days vs. the WCY average of 55. Among the ASEAN-5, only Indonesia is worse off than the Philippines. Singapore and Thailand clock 5 and 29 days, respectively.
Notwithstanding the many challenges facing the country, there continue to be bright spots. One sector that holds much promise is the Creative Industries, especially given the Filipino’s strong predisposition for “activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property”. From artisanal products and design to the performing arts to animation and even cultural festivals, the Filipino ingenuity and creativity has been recognized the world over. With policy sweeteners, the country should be able to get its slice of the global creative pie.
2006 State of Philippine Competitiveness: Results from World
Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 (.pdf)
Mr. Francis G. Estrada
President, Asian Institute of Management
The Creative Industries and People:
Towards an Agenda for the Interplay of Business, Arts, Science and Technology in the Philippines (.pdf)
Dr. Federico M. Macaranas
Executive Director, AIM Policy Center
The Philippine Creative Industries: Nurturing Potentials for Employment Generation (.pdf)
Mr. Arturo L. Sodusta
Assistant Secretary, Department of Labor and Employment
Cine Malaya (.pdf)
Mr. Dennis Marasigan
Cultural Center of the Philippines
Fiestas and Street Performances: A Year-Round Showcase of Philippine Creativity (.pdf)
Mr. Romulo delos Reyes
Director, Department of Tourism
Designing in the Philippines (.pdf)
Ms. Bea Valdes
Disigner and CEO
The Philippines in the Global Animation Industry (.pdf)
Ms. Grace Dimaranan
President, Animation Council of the Philippines
Fostering Creativity in Schools and Colleges (.pdf)
Arch. Gerard L.V. Torres
Dean, School of Design and Arts - College of Saint Benilde
The Creative Industries Sector: Moving the Agenda Forward (.pdf)
Ms. Felicitas R. Agoncillo-Reyes
Assistant Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry