The sick man of Asia again?

WE are the sick man of Asia again with the slowest economic recovery after COVID-19 (-11.5-percent growth in the third quarter). Businesses have yet to rebound as they await stimulus, and we cannot expect them to recover on their own without government’s aggressive assistance.

Apparently, the voices of the social development scientists in government have not been listened to by the politicians who frame the agenda that will address an economy in disrepair.

Our latest per capita income is one of the lowest among the East Asian and Pacific nations. Vietnam, which used to be the 12th in a cluster of East Asian and Pacific nations, has already sped past us in per capita GDP. The two most significant indicators of per capita GDP are the numerator, which is a country’s total GDP, and the denominator, its population.

The business performance in the country is dismal, with 90 percent of business being domestic firms catering to domestic consumption, which relies heavily on government spending. We have been for decades at the lower half in total GDP among 12 East Asian Pacific nations.

But our population has increased unabated at an annual average rate of 2 percent. The population now stands at 110 million, compared to many First-World economies with much smaller populations like South Korea (52 million), Canada (38 million), Australia (25 million), and Singapore (6 million).

Like a candle, we seem to be burning on both ends: While the population increases by 2 percent, our GDP growth falters.

Population control needs to be legislated and business stimulus should be an urgent and priority agenda. When do we start being sensible as a nation?

Marvel K. Tan, Quezon City