The “Filipino First” Policy and the Central Bank, 1958–1961: Island of State Strength and Economic Decolonization

Takagi, Yusuke

doi:10.1353/phs.2014.0015

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, several challenges circumvented the deepening of industrial development in the country, including the opposition of landowning capitalists to large-scale land reform (Rivera, 1994), the dampening impact of preferential trade agreements with the US on local manufactures (Cuaderno, 1952), and the overvaluation of the Philippine peso (Raquiza, 2013). In addition to these, 78% of Philippine imports were composed of capital goods in 1957, which became the priority of foreign exchange allocations (Takagi, 2014). This led to a preference for capital-intensive industries over labor-intensive industries in import substitution, leaving over 50% of the labor force in the agricultural sector that was not sufficiently developed (Antonio.…”

Section: Political Economy Of Globalization In the Philippinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Labor flexibility in the Philippines

Joy Llagas Galunan

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Globalization intensified competitive pressures among developing economies as indiscriminate openness to trade and capital flows exposed many labor markets to greater volatility.In efforts to attract foreign capital investments, fulfill structural adjustment programs of international financial institutions and promote the interests of dominant factions of domestic capitalists, many developing economies reconfigured existing regulatory frameworks to incorporate flexible labor arrangements which are highly vulnerable to social and economic precarity.Short-term contracts and labor outsourcing have deepened structural inequalities in labor markets while obstructing access to collective bargaining, skills development, and wage growth. As such, the prevalence of labor flexibility in many countries historically excluded workers from the gains of economic growth.The institutionalization of labor flexibility in the Philippines demonstrates this historical exclusion, as GDP growth at an unprecedented rate of 6.5% from 2010 to 2017 occurred while the labor market employed 30% of the labor force in short-term and outsourced labor contracts. The study traces the development of labor flexibility in the Philippines by examining transformations in its political economy. In its globalization period from 1970 to 2010, the institutionalization of labor flexibility in the Philippines served three functions: (1) as a source of competitive advantage in the quest for foreign capital investments on the national level, (2) as a local labor control regime for key developing regions on the subnational level, and (3) as an available adjustment apparatus for economic sectors with externally-sourced demand.For the growth period of 2010 to 2017, the further entrenchment of these functions is examined within the context of services-led growth. The study demonstrates that increased employment and productivity in services sectors with high rates of growth, i.e. retail trade, business processing, and real estate sectors entailed the employment of more workers under precarious short-term and outsourced contracts with persistently unequal and stagnant wage growth. Thus, the study challenges neoclassical and new institutionalist claims that growth from integration and economic upgrading will generally translate into better working conditions.

show abstract

Section: Political Economy Of Globalization In the Philippinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Encouraged by the World Bank and Filipino capitalists engaged primarily in commercial trade, policy instruments for industrial development increasingly shifted from import and exchange controls towards tax incentives and tariff discounts(Takagi, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%