Brian Godwin Lim 171271

During the first quarter of 2019, the GDP growth of the country has slowed down due

to several factors. The most evident cause for this was the delay in the approval of the 2019

budget. This caused government spending to decline and consequently reduce the GDP. The

high inflation rate also lessened the household consumption thereby further reducing the

GDP. External factors also caused the decline of economic growth. According to Souleyman

Coulibaly, the World Bank's Lead Country Economist, the Philippines should be attentive to

the economy of its neighboring countries, especially China, since they are closely connected

through trades. In fact, trade tensions, such as between China and the United States, can also

be a major headwind to our development.

These evidences show how vulnerable our country’s growth is to both domestic and

external problems. However, there are several prospects for economic growth for our country

in the coming years. First, Philippines is a major exporter of electronic equipment. In fact, in

his talk, Coulibaly presented figures that show the steady increase in our export of electronic

equipment in the last decade. This could be a potential source for our economic growth given

the high demand in electronic equipment today. Moreover, with the right direction, this could

lead our country into becoming a digital economy. Furthermore, the services sector was the

primary driver for economic growth with over half of GDP coming from this sector alone.

The government could take advantage of the trend and encourage more economic activity in

this sector, especially in trades and finance, through policies and programs. On the contrary,

the agriculture sector has been underperforming. The government could also give them more

attention and invest on them, through fiscal policies or subsidies, in order to lessen our

imports of agricultural products in order to meet the demand of Filipinos. It would be a waste

for us to not maximize our land resources.

 In addition, in order to accelerate socio-economic development, the government could

invest more in human capital since, on average, only 55% of potential productivity is being

realized. The government could provide its citizens with education and the skills needed so

that they may help contribute to the economic growth of the country. This could also lead to

the expansion of the different sectors and improve our economy as well. Moreover, the

government could also invest in human capital by providing them with better access to health

care. This ensures that each individual may maximize his/her potential and prevent child

stunting and even premature deaths. In addition, the government could also make efforts

towards promoting peace since chaos causes economic activities to halt. According to

Coulibaly, for our country to have a long-term sustainable development, long-term

sustainable peace should first be achieved.

Finally, good macroeconomic policies can also further influence the development

direction in our country. According to Mr. Coulibaly, one such policies could be aimed

towards attracting investors to set up their business in the country. This can be done by giving

them fiscal incentives. More investors could also lead to competition in sectors with

monopoly which is beneficial for consumers since prices will go down. The government

could also implement reforms to entice its citizens to start doing business. This will result in

more economic activities in the country.

Overall, even though our country faces a lot of headwinds towards economic growth,

the government has numerous ways of advancing our country’s growth. Some of which are

investing in sectors with potential, investing in human capital, and implementing good

macroeconomic policies. If the government can successfully implement these ideas, our

country will surely flourish despite the major headwinds.