Professor Emmanuel S. de Dios of the UP School of Economicswas the guest speaker at a lecture of the Mabini Dialogue Series entitled “Beyond the Remittances: Notes As If the Long Run Mattered” held on 7 August 2014 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. at the FSI.

Professor de Dios discussed howOFW remittances are now the principal drivers of economic growth. Transfers, such as the large volume of inward remittances from OFWs, have eased a large part of the national fiscal burden, such as sovereign debt. These transfers have greatly contributed to the upward rise of the Philippine economy.

He explained how the growth in remittances hasresultedin a weak manufacturing sector and a dominant services sector. This so called “Dutch Disease” causes long-term harm such as a lack of competitiveness in exports and domestic industries, and low economic mobility for families and individuals who cannot enter the OFW market. In order to mitigate the more adverse effects of the phenomenon, fiscal yields from remittances have to be invested in foundations for economic competitiveness – such as education and infrastructure.

This special lecture of the Mabini Dialogue Serieswas organized in the observance of the Development Policy Research Month, and conducted in partnership with the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Coordination-DFA, and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies. The event was attended by officers and staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Service Institute and, through webinar, the Philippine embassy in Shanghai.