Villegas, Bernardo M.
Guide to economics for Filipinos - 7th. Edition - Manila Sinag-Tala Publishers 2010 - ix, 443 pages : illustrations.
Part I: economics and the Filipino citizen. –
1 Economics as a Social Science. –
2 Economic wants and the Filipino citizen. –
3 Economic resources and the Filipino citizen. –
4 The tools of economics. –
Part II: economic systems. –
5 The need for an economic system. –
6 The choice of an economic system. –
Part III: the Philippine economic system. –
7 The evolution of the market economy. –
8 The development and characteristics of the Philippine market economy. –
Part IV: the law of supply and demand. –
9 The demand for a product. –
10 The supply of a product. –
11 The determination of price. –
12 Supply and demand interaction. –
13 Prices and the consumer. –
Part V: the economics of competition. –
14 Th social role of competition. –
15 Competition among the many. –
16 The absence of competition. –
17 Competition among the few. –
Part VI: the economics of the nation. –
18 The national economy. –
19 The measurement of national income. –
20 The goals of economic policy. –
21 Monetary policy. –
22 Fiscal policy. –
23 International trade.
"This 7th edition of Guide to Economics for Filipinos is being written in the midst of the worst economic recession to hit the globe since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The financial meltdown that started in the United States is being attributed by not a few commentators to the failures of capitalism or the free market economy.
What I wrote in the Preface to the 6th edition ow sounds ominously prophetic: "As the inexorable process of globalization engulfed many countries, including the Philippines, criticisms of market forces have become more strident. Although I had made it very clear in the 5th edition that market forces have to be strongly complemented by social safety nets for the marginalized sectors of the society, I have found it necessary in this present edition to expound in greater detail about the responsibility of both the government and civil society to proactively address the deficiencies of the market economy in providing for the needs of the poor."
I have found it more necessary in this 7h edition to expound on the limits to free market forces in addressing the needs of the poor. Instead of succumbing to pressures to shorten the chapters that deal with the philosophical, historical, cultural, sociological and psychological underpinnings of total human development, I have not only retained all the chapters in Parts I, II and III of the textbook but further elaborated on such principles as the principle of subsidiarity, of solidarity, of the common good and of the preferential option for the poor. The introductory textbook in economics must necessarily be multidisciplinary to enable the beginning student to understand economic problems in the context of the overall approach to total human development.
Because a thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the market economy requires a strong foundation on what is known as microeconomics, I have continued the practice of discussing first the economics of an industry (the law of supply and demand) and the economics of a firm (the economics of competition before getting into macroeconomics (the economics of a nation). Although it is true that enlightened citizenship requires a sufficient understanding of hoe the Government is able to control inflation and maintain a stable economic environment through appropriate monetary, fiscal and trade policies, I think it is even more important for intelligent decision making at the level of the consumer, household, enterprise, and community for the students being introduced for the first time to economics to appreciate the factors that influence the demand for a product, the supply of a product, the determination of the price of a product and the ill effects of monopoly and oligopoly. If treatment of the economic theories and practices, I would give preference to the microeconomic topics because of their greater relevance to individual decision making.
Of course, it is also important that the beginner should be able to follow closely the very current topics of pump priming, deficit spending, inflation targeting, foreign exchange rate management, tax and tariff policies, and similar macroeconomic issues that are closely related to the ongoing global economic crisis and prospects for economic recovery over the next three to five years. A new Government will be in place after the elections in May 2010 and there will be many expectations about how to increase the savings rate and the tax ratio; how to allocate a bigger share of the government budget to education and countryside infrastructure; and how to reduce the rate of unemployment. A significant number of the tools necessary to address these problems are macroeconomic in nature, that is, they have to do with the aggregates and not the individual units.
So that enough time can still be devoted to the economics of a nation in a regular introductory course in economics, I have decided to eliminate Part VII (Introduction to Economic Development) found in the 6th edition. The feedback we have gotten from teachers who have used our textbook is that there is always limited time to cover the meaty issues contained in this last part of the book. I have decided that it would be more prudent to write a separate book on Economic Development that can be offered as a college course in various specializations like business administration, economics, political science, political economy and other areas in the social sciences that require an understanding of the complex process of sustainable human development. I hope to be able to come out with a book on Economic Development some time in the next two to three years.
Because of the multidisciplinary approach we have taken in communicating the theories and applications of the science of economics, we have been able to incorporate many of the major topics that were treated in Part VII (Introduction to Economic Development) in the 6th edition into the appropriate chapters of Parts I to VI. For example, we have made abundant references to taxation, agrarian reform, industrialization, regional economic development and environmental management in illustrating the applications of microeconomic or macroeconomic theories to the economics of a consumer, firm, household, community, region or nation. We have taken pains, however, to still distinguish between what is quantifiable in economic behavior at the various levels of society and what is difficult to quantify. For example, responses of human beings to such extrinsic motivating factors as higher salaries, lower prices, greater profits, lower costs, etc. are very well described in the chapters that are replete with graphical illustrations.
We are quick to point out, however, that there is no such thing as a purely economic animal. Human beings are also motivated by intrinsic factors such as achievement, job satisfaction, the nature of the work itself and other psychological factors that are not completely determined by material rewards. Even more important, every human being can be motivated by the love of benevolence or altruism which prompts him to even disregard economic reward to work unselfishly for the good of others. These other motivations can have significant impact on the building of a just and humane society and cannot be ignored in the study of economic problems. We hope that this textbook will succeed in combining the more mechanistic aspects of economic behavior with the humanistic dimensions of intrinsic and transcendent motivations.
The next six to ten years in the Philippine economy will be critical for the long-term future of our country. First, there will be the question of how quickly our economy can recover from the negative impact of the global economic crisis that started in the U.S. in 2008. Fortunately, the Philippines has been one of the few countries that have continued to post a positive growth rate in its Gross Domestic Product, thanks to the millions of Filipino Overseas Workers who send billions of dollars to their relatives at home, to the large domestic market of the Philippines, and to a very active pump-priming program of the Government. It is important, however, that the GDP growth returns to the 7 or more percent that it was already able to register in 2007. Only by growing at 7 to 10 percent annually in GDP for more than a decade, as China, India, and Vietnam have already been able to do before the ongoing deep recession, can the Philippines succeed in eradicating mass poverty. This is the challenge to the new set of leaders who will be in place during the second half of 2010.
Those who will lead the Philippines during the second decade of the third millennium can meet the challenge of eradicating mass poverty only if there is an enlightened citizenry that will demand of their leaders the appropriate economic policies that will provide an attractive environment for entrepreneurial activity, which is the primary driving force for rapid growth and development. It is our hope that this textbook, significantly updated and enriched to keep up with the times, will make a small contribution to the economics education of the masses. In the updating of data, I would like to especially thank my research assistant, Mr. Ernest Marc V. Castillo.
We enjoin the teachers and students in our schools and universities to make the necessary effort to attain economic literacy, an indispensable condition for enlightened citizenship."
- Bernardo M. Villegas
9789715542166
Economics.
Fil 330 V71g 2010
Guide to economics for Filipinos - 7th. Edition - Manila Sinag-Tala Publishers 2010 - ix, 443 pages : illustrations.
Part I: economics and the Filipino citizen. –
1 Economics as a Social Science. –
2 Economic wants and the Filipino citizen. –
3 Economic resources and the Filipino citizen. –
4 The tools of economics. –
Part II: economic systems. –
5 The need for an economic system. –
6 The choice of an economic system. –
Part III: the Philippine economic system. –
7 The evolution of the market economy. –
8 The development and characteristics of the Philippine market economy. –
Part IV: the law of supply and demand. –
9 The demand for a product. –
10 The supply of a product. –
11 The determination of price. –
12 Supply and demand interaction. –
13 Prices and the consumer. –
Part V: the economics of competition. –
14 Th social role of competition. –
15 Competition among the many. –
16 The absence of competition. –
17 Competition among the few. –
Part VI: the economics of the nation. –
18 The national economy. –
19 The measurement of national income. –
20 The goals of economic policy. –
21 Monetary policy. –
22 Fiscal policy. –
23 International trade.
"This 7th edition of Guide to Economics for Filipinos is being written in the midst of the worst economic recession to hit the globe since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The financial meltdown that started in the United States is being attributed by not a few commentators to the failures of capitalism or the free market economy.
What I wrote in the Preface to the 6th edition ow sounds ominously prophetic: "As the inexorable process of globalization engulfed many countries, including the Philippines, criticisms of market forces have become more strident. Although I had made it very clear in the 5th edition that market forces have to be strongly complemented by social safety nets for the marginalized sectors of the society, I have found it necessary in this present edition to expound in greater detail about the responsibility of both the government and civil society to proactively address the deficiencies of the market economy in providing for the needs of the poor."
I have found it more necessary in this 7h edition to expound on the limits to free market forces in addressing the needs of the poor. Instead of succumbing to pressures to shorten the chapters that deal with the philosophical, historical, cultural, sociological and psychological underpinnings of total human development, I have not only retained all the chapters in Parts I, II and III of the textbook but further elaborated on such principles as the principle of subsidiarity, of solidarity, of the common good and of the preferential option for the poor. The introductory textbook in economics must necessarily be multidisciplinary to enable the beginning student to understand economic problems in the context of the overall approach to total human development.
Because a thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the market economy requires a strong foundation on what is known as microeconomics, I have continued the practice of discussing first the economics of an industry (the law of supply and demand) and the economics of a firm (the economics of competition before getting into macroeconomics (the economics of a nation). Although it is true that enlightened citizenship requires a sufficient understanding of hoe the Government is able to control inflation and maintain a stable economic environment through appropriate monetary, fiscal and trade policies, I think it is even more important for intelligent decision making at the level of the consumer, household, enterprise, and community for the students being introduced for the first time to economics to appreciate the factors that influence the demand for a product, the supply of a product, the determination of the price of a product and the ill effects of monopoly and oligopoly. If treatment of the economic theories and practices, I would give preference to the microeconomic topics because of their greater relevance to individual decision making.
Of course, it is also important that the beginner should be able to follow closely the very current topics of pump priming, deficit spending, inflation targeting, foreign exchange rate management, tax and tariff policies, and similar macroeconomic issues that are closely related to the ongoing global economic crisis and prospects for economic recovery over the next three to five years. A new Government will be in place after the elections in May 2010 and there will be many expectations about how to increase the savings rate and the tax ratio; how to allocate a bigger share of the government budget to education and countryside infrastructure; and how to reduce the rate of unemployment. A significant number of the tools necessary to address these problems are macroeconomic in nature, that is, they have to do with the aggregates and not the individual units.
So that enough time can still be devoted to the economics of a nation in a regular introductory course in economics, I have decided to eliminate Part VII (Introduction to Economic Development) found in the 6th edition. The feedback we have gotten from teachers who have used our textbook is that there is always limited time to cover the meaty issues contained in this last part of the book. I have decided that it would be more prudent to write a separate book on Economic Development that can be offered as a college course in various specializations like business administration, economics, political science, political economy and other areas in the social sciences that require an understanding of the complex process of sustainable human development. I hope to be able to come out with a book on Economic Development some time in the next two to three years.
Because of the multidisciplinary approach we have taken in communicating the theories and applications of the science of economics, we have been able to incorporate many of the major topics that were treated in Part VII (Introduction to Economic Development) in the 6th edition into the appropriate chapters of Parts I to VI. For example, we have made abundant references to taxation, agrarian reform, industrialization, regional economic development and environmental management in illustrating the applications of microeconomic or macroeconomic theories to the economics of a consumer, firm, household, community, region or nation. We have taken pains, however, to still distinguish between what is quantifiable in economic behavior at the various levels of society and what is difficult to quantify. For example, responses of human beings to such extrinsic motivating factors as higher salaries, lower prices, greater profits, lower costs, etc. are very well described in the chapters that are replete with graphical illustrations.
We are quick to point out, however, that there is no such thing as a purely economic animal. Human beings are also motivated by intrinsic factors such as achievement, job satisfaction, the nature of the work itself and other psychological factors that are not completely determined by material rewards. Even more important, every human being can be motivated by the love of benevolence or altruism which prompts him to even disregard economic reward to work unselfishly for the good of others. These other motivations can have significant impact on the building of a just and humane society and cannot be ignored in the study of economic problems. We hope that this textbook will succeed in combining the more mechanistic aspects of economic behavior with the humanistic dimensions of intrinsic and transcendent motivations.
The next six to ten years in the Philippine economy will be critical for the long-term future of our country. First, there will be the question of how quickly our economy can recover from the negative impact of the global economic crisis that started in the U.S. in 2008. Fortunately, the Philippines has been one of the few countries that have continued to post a positive growth rate in its Gross Domestic Product, thanks to the millions of Filipino Overseas Workers who send billions of dollars to their relatives at home, to the large domestic market of the Philippines, and to a very active pump-priming program of the Government. It is important, however, that the GDP growth returns to the 7 or more percent that it was already able to register in 2007. Only by growing at 7 to 10 percent annually in GDP for more than a decade, as China, India, and Vietnam have already been able to do before the ongoing deep recession, can the Philippines succeed in eradicating mass poverty. This is the challenge to the new set of leaders who will be in place during the second half of 2010.
Those who will lead the Philippines during the second decade of the third millennium can meet the challenge of eradicating mass poverty only if there is an enlightened citizenry that will demand of their leaders the appropriate economic policies that will provide an attractive environment for entrepreneurial activity, which is the primary driving force for rapid growth and development. It is our hope that this textbook, significantly updated and enriched to keep up with the times, will make a small contribution to the economics education of the masses. In the updating of data, I would like to especially thank my research assistant, Mr. Ernest Marc V. Castillo.
We enjoin the teachers and students in our schools and universities to make the necessary effort to attain economic literacy, an indispensable condition for enlightened citizenship."
- Bernardo M. Villegas
9789715542166
Economics.
Fil 330 V71g 2010