Improvements in the country’s fiscal stability, government spending and monetary stability pushed the Philippines’s so-called economic freedom up 12 notches to 58th, according to an international think tank.
In its latest annual global survey, US-based think tank Heritage Foundation said the Philippines’s economic freedom improved from 70th in 2016 to 58th out of 186 countries in the 2017 edition.
The country’s economic freedom score advanced to 65.6, a 2.5-point increase from its 2016 Index of Economic Freedom (IEF) score. The score is higher than the world average of 60.9 and the Asia-Pacific region average of 60.4.
Economic freedom, as measured by the Heritage Foundation, is based on 12 factors grouped in four categories—rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency and open markets.
“The Philippines has achieved notable economic expansion, driven by the economy’s strong export performance and inflows of remittances,” the think tank said.
The research institution also noted that the “the government continues to pursue legislative reforms to enhance the overall entrepreneurial environment and develop a stronger private sector that is needed to generate broader-based job growth”. The Philippines falls in the “moderately free” territory with its latest score.
This moderately free category, according to Heritage Foundation, provides institutional environments in which individuals and private enterprises benefit from at least a moderate degree of economic freedom in the pursuit of greater competitiveness, growth and prosperity.
Both Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. and Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III welcomed the results of the latest survey of Heritage Foundation.
“The BSP’s firm commitment to maintain price stability and promote a sound and inclusive financial sector and the positive results we have achieved, thus far, have contributed to the big improvement of the Philippines’s IEF ranking,” Tetangco said.
“The benign inflation environment has enabled the economy to further accelerate in 2016, a remarkable feat given the uncertainty and volatility in the global scene. With the BSP’s relentless efforts to pursue proactive reforms to improve governance and risk management in banks, the Philippine banking system remains a pillar of strength that will support the rapid pace of growth of the economy,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dominguez said the significant jump in the country’s ranking “validates” the effectiveness of government reforms to advance the economy.
19 February 2017
By Bianca Cuaresma
