PH rises to 60th spot in think tank prosperity index

THE Philippines rose 14 spots to rank 60th in this year’s Prosperity Index by think tank Legatum Institute, a study that measures a nation’s wealth and the happiness of its people.

In the 10th anniversary edition of the Prosperity Index released last Nov. 3, Legatum Institute noted that the country’s strong performance in the Social Capital and Personal Freedom sub-indices, coupled with a more competitive economy, helped the Philippines move up from the 74th spot in 2015.

“Momentum has come from a bullish economy thanks to upgraded infrastructure and improved governance,” the institute pointed out.

The Philippines globally ranked 58th in the Personal Freedom sub-index, which measures national progress towards basic legal rights, individual freedoms and social tolerance, while it ranked 21st in the Social Capital sub-index, which measures the strength of personal relationships, social network support, social norms and civic participation in a country.

This year’s index covers 149 nations worldwide, up from 142 last year, and also features a total of 104 variables from 89.

A new sub-index on Natural Environment was also added to the eight existing sub-indices of Health, Education, Governance, Safety and Security, Economic Quality, Personal Freedom and Social Capital.

Legatum indicated that the country’s open-minded business policies and protection of individual freedoms were rewarded with years of steady economic growth as well as one of the biggest prosperity surplus among Southeast Asian countries.

With an annual average growth rate of 6.3 percent between 2010 to 2014, the Philippines is considered to be among Asia’s fastest growing economies today.

The Philippines maintained its spot at 62nd place from 2015 in the Business Environment sub-index, but the think tank emphasized how the country has climbed 36 ranks in the last 10 years thanks to rapidly improving Internet infrastructure and insolvency procedures, and falling redundancy and electricity costs.

During the term of former president Benigno Aquino III, the government committed itself to an ambitious business policy agenda that encouraged foreign investment and used public money to improve infrastructure.

Legatum noted that this business-friendly agenda helped push the country up in the ranks, boosting it by 52 places in Business Environment since 2009 while its economy, long reliant on remittances and tourism, found new growth in a developing manufacturing industry.

“The Philippines has made progress in both the ease of getting credit and the ease of resolving insolvency, which was once one of the worst in the world. The labour market has grown more flexible, and electricity costs are falling,” the institute added.