The Philippines The Sick Man of Asia?

The Philippines has been labelled the Sick Man of Asia. In the early 1950s the Philippines was among the richest and most advanced countries in Asia, but has been surpassed by many of its neighbours over the last decades. In this paper we argue that though the political and economical system of the Philippines has been highly inefficient, it is not entirely correct to use the Sick Man label. The Philippine performance has not been much worse than that of other poor middle-income developing countries. Some of its neighbours have, however, departed from import substitution policies at a time that has allowed them to take advantage of the growing demand for manufacturing goods and the spread of industry in Asia.