Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.

Minimal Government Thinkers, SEANET

ALB Competition Forum

Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati

15 November 2016

PH performance 2016 Report: Very low in Goods market efficiency and Labor market efficiency

Overall GCI Efficiency Enhancers

2016 2015 2016 2015

Singapore 2nd (5.81) 2nd (5.68) 2nd (5.73)

Japan 8th (5.48) 6th (5.47) 10th (5.37)

Hong Kong 9th (5.48) 7th (5.46) 4th (5.58)

Taiwan 14th (5.28) 15th (5.28) 16th (5.20)

Malaysia 25th (5.16) 18th (5.23) 24th (4.96)

S. Korea 26th (5.03) 26th (5.99) 26th (4.88)

China 28th (4.95) 28th (4.89) 30th (4.79)

Thailand 34th (4.64) 32nd (4.64) 37th (4.56)

Indonesia 41st (4.52) 37th (4.52) 49th (4.38)

Philippines 57th (4.36) 47th (4.39) 58th (4.24)

Vietnam 60th (4.31) 56th (4.30) 65th (4.15)

Source: Andre Palacios, Presentation at the PH Economic Society (PES) Conference, Nov. 8, 2016

Multi-agency creators of monopoly or oligopoly structure, and they are outside the scope of the PH Competition Commission (PCC).

Tricycle route monopoly: set by LGUs

Jeepney route monopoly: set by LTFRB Inter-island shipping monopoly or duopoly: set by MARINA

Social application: For every government intervention, there is an equal opposite distortion.

True or False?

1. Very often, the purpose of government is to expand government.

2. Newton’s 3rd law of motion revised: For every govt intervention, there is an equal opposite distortion.

3. Improve market efficiency and competition not so much what govt. should do/subsidize but rather, what govt. should NOT do Less bureaucracies, taxes, fees, regulations, prohibitions.

4. Not so much good governance of BIG government but less governance.

5. Heed Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hands’ of the market, not Keynes’ ‘grabbing hands’ of the state.