YSI Panel on Mitigating Socioeconomic Inequality through Local And National Initiatives at PES 2024

Philippine Economics Society (PES) Main Conference

Each year, the Philippine Economics Society (PES) conducts the PES Annual Meeting and Conference. For its 62nd year, the theme is dedicated to achieving upper-middle-income status through “Traversing Innovative Pathways for Economic Resilience, Inclusion, and Localization.” The event focuses on overcoming challenges like inequality and poverty through local economic development, transformative reforms in key sectors, and embracing digitalization. This gathering aims to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among policymakers, local officials, industry leaders, and civil society to co-create innovative solutions for a resilient, inclusive, and localized economy. It will be hosted in Novotel Manila Araneta City, Quezon City, Philippines from November 7-8, 2024.

YSI Panel on Mitigating Socioeconomic Inequality through Local And National Initiatives

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Philippine economy has successfully navigated multiple external headwinds in recent years and is expected to grow by 5.8 percent in 2024. Notwithstanding the country’s macroeconomic stability, poverty remains to be in double digits (15.5 percent in 2023), inequality of opportunities between regions persist, and natural resources remain untapped for economic security purposes.

Youth are rarely included in the formulation and implementation of economic policies that directly impact their future. Their innovative ideas are often overlooked. Traditional hierarchies and societal norms in cultures like the Philippines can also discourage youth from actively engaging in economic discourse, particularly in challenging the status quo or proposing alternative solutions. As such, this first Philippine YSI panel brings together undergraduate and graduate students, as well as young economists, to share their fresh perspectives on how the pursuit of economic resilience, inclusion and localization can mitigate socioeconomic inequalities entrench in the Philippine economy. This session will provide a Global South insight on why socioeconomic inequalities is still a persisting economic challenge in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs).

Panel Abstracts

Revitalization Initiatives of the Local Government: A Case Study of the Balut Industry in Pateros, Metro Manila
*Bacani, Cielo Grace F., Kampana, Genea Gail V., Sarical, Patricia Gael A.
Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Following an incessant decline, the local government of Pateros initiated revival efforts for its Balut industry through the Balut incubator technology project and tax exemptions for Balut businesses. These initiatives were analyzed using a qualitative case study, employing a semi-structured interview with five registered Balut businesses and four key informants, notably officials and representatives from Pateros and the Department of Science and Technology. The findings highlight the complexities of the revival endeavors, with strengths encompassing convenience and cost-effectiveness of egg processing and streamlined business requirements. Weaknesses manifested through incubator technology usage limitations and insufficient tax benefits. Opportunities lie in diversifying and enhancing duck egg quality, increasing local government support, program expansion, and leveraging Balut as a delicacy. Challenges include misconceptions about programs, lack of project monitoring, duck egg supply shortages, and resistance to modern technology. Therefore, enhancing and expanding revitalization efforts is necessary to support businesses and overcome industry challenges.

Guns and Butter: The Tradeoff Between Defense and Social Expenditure in the Philippines (1981-2022)
Axl Fitzgerald L. Bulawan (YSI East Asia WG)
University of the Philippines Tacloban

Tradeoffs, as a result of scarcity, are at the center of economics. One common tradeoff is the guns and butter, the budgetary tradeoff between defense expenditure and social expenditure. Using Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Funding (BESF) data from 1981 to 2022, this study used regression analysis to determine whether this tradeoff exists in the case of the Philippines. It found no evidence that increased defense expenditure has a negative effect on social expenditure, as represented by education expenditure. On the contrary, it found that defense expenditure induces education expenditure. This study also attempted to test the Benoit hypothesis using Philippine data, a hypothesis that posits that defense spending results in economic growth. Building on Dariano’s (2015) earlier work, this study used Granger causation analysis to determine the causal relationship between defense expenditure and social expenditure to GDP and vice versa. It found that social expenditure Granger causes economic output, while no appropriate lag order length was selected to be able to prove the Benoit hypothesis. Results imply the need for greater budgetary allocation to social spending in order to increase economic output.

Achieving Economic Security through the Blue Economy
Marius Stephen V. Torres (YSI Sustainability WG)
Philippine Representative to the IMF, Department of Finance

The study aims to develop a Blue Economy (BE) Strategy that encourages the Philippine Government to simultaneously promote the twin pursuits of maritime and economic security, and encourage the adequate management of risks to optimally utilize the opportunities associated with the traditional (fishing and tourism) and emerging (marine technology and renewable energy) BE industries. The study found out that the BE holds one of the keys to achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development in the Philippines; achieving the country’s goal of 100 percent food-fish sufficiency by 2028 will require improving management of fish stocks; conserving marine ecosystems plays an integral role in protecting coastal communities from the effects of climate change; strengthening the tourism industry will further boost economic activities by creating demand for both consumption and investment; and the Philippines can explore and invest in marine technology and renewable energy to unlock the BE’s economic and development potential.

Registration

The deadline for pre-registration is 3 November 2024. Online participants are required to register by 3 November. Meanwhile, for on-site participants, walk-ins will still be accepted on the day of the conference. Click here to access the conference portal https://economicsph.org/pes62