THE Philippines has been given so many labels in the last 25 years, the best known of which is probably “basket case”. We can add “sick man of Asia” and, more recently, the “the next Asian miracle” to the list.
Being given labels should not surprise us, considering that we live in an age when everything and everybody must be properly categorized and put in its own box, like the colored rubber bands that children use for their “loom-band” bracelets.
We all know the Group of Seven (G-7) nations; they are the “big boys” that try to rule the world. The Philippines is not a G-7 member. Then there is the Group of 20 (G-20) countries; the Philippines is not a member of that, either. Why? Perhaps, it’s because we have not defaulted on our foreign debt, like G-20 member Argentina.
The Philippines is having credit-rating upgrades and 5-percent economic growth, unlike another G-20 member, South Africa, which has below 2-percent growth and is barely hanging on to its investment-grade credit rating.
We are a member of the informal “Next 11”, made up of “high-potential economies”, including “economic standouts” Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria and Egypt.
The Philippines is part of a select group called the TIMPs, which includes Turkey, whose president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, issued an arrest warrant for a self-exiled opposition leader. Another is Mexico, which has been battling to save its currency, which is at the weakest exchange rate, since 2009.
The one broad category that the Philippines probably belongs to is “emerging market”. However, we are considered just a “secondary emerging market”. That almost sounds like being an illegitimate child who is not entitled to a full share of the family estate.
So what should we think when we read newspaper headlines like these: “Emerging markets are risky business”, “The sun is setting on the emerging market miracle”, and “Dollar strength to hammer emerging markets in 2015”?
We have been taught to believe the “duck test”—that is, if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it is probably a duck. Except that the ill-informed could mistake the double-crested cormorant or the red-throated loon for a common duck. Maybe it is not a duck, but an eagle disguised as one.
An emerging market is commonly defined as a country that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not meet all the standards. This is true. The Philippines is not drowning in debt. The Philippine economy is not being propped up by government stimulus. By those standards, we will never be “developed”.