By ARTURO BOQUIREN

On 14-16 November 2007, I attended the 45th Annual Meeting of the Philippine Economic Society. Some of the papers presented were as follows:

• University of the Philippines School of Economics Professor Dr. Dante Canlas said that most of the growth in real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in the Philippines is due to an increase in the capital-labor ratio and hardly any from technical progress, and that this growth pattern is not sustainable.

• Asian Development Bank’s Dr. Jong-Wha Lee said that East Asian countries grew faster than the rest of the world in the last four decades, and the growth performance can be attributed to strong fundamental growth factors like investment rate, human resources, fertility, institutional quality, macroeconomic stability, and the degree of trade openness. Read the rest of this entry →

By KATHLEEN T. OKUBO

Have you watched a Chinese kung-fu movie where the characters dressed in old-style Chinese dresses? They also have that round hat fitted to the top of the head like a helmet. Well, I thought that was the hat I was wearing when I got to Shanghai. But no, it was not. I can’t pass for a Chinese even if I was chinky-eyed, fair-skinned and of light build. Along the way, somebody changed my hat into one of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Shanghai. And I didn’t get to meet any one OFW in Shanghai.

I was in the middle of the Challenge Bibendum. This is a big corporate annual convention hosted by Michelin, the tire maker, itself represented by Bibendum (the mascot of Michelin) that was celebrating its birthday today through the said convention. In attendance were car makers, car-accessory makers, distributors, raw material suppliers, fuel producers, etc., and people such as I who had nothing to do with these things, not even with the routine work of driving a car. Read the rest of this entry →

By ALDWIN QUITASOL

My friends, it is solidarity of labor we want. We do not want to find fault with each other, but to solidify our forces and say to each other: “We must be togther; our masters are joined together and we must do the same thing.” — Mother Jones

Mankayan folk must be so relieved after experiencing four elections in a year. Last May, they participated in the national and local elections for the country’s government officials. In the month of June, they saw the mineworkers of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMCo) vote for their officers through a local election (LE).

Then last month, they took part in the barangay elections, and saw their neighbors who won and who lost. This month, they witnessed the recently concluded certification election (CE) of the mineworkers. Read the rest of this entry →