Articles

An article is a finished piece of work, likely the result of a data analysis or a viewpoint that's gone through multiple iterations of feedback and refinement. It's intended to be the traditional blog post.

2013-10-01

On Tax Evasion in the Philippines: They go to crooked politicians, anyway

TAX EVASION LOSSES - The Tax Justice Institute estimated the amount of taxes lost due to tax avoidance for several countries, including the Philippines, using World Bank data on shadow economies (the unregulated, but not illegal part of the market). Find out how much the government loses from tax evasion and how it compares to some commonly quoted government numbers.

2013-09-28

On Traffic Accident Hotspots - EDSA and C-5

Ever wonder where and what types of vehicles are involved in road accidents along Manila’s major thoroughfares? The MMDA twitter account can shed some light on that. Vehicular accidents reported by the MMDA along EDSA and C-5 are parsed to reveal the most dangerous intersections and flyovers, as well as expose buses and trucks as major accident culprits.

2013-09-25

On the News: The Philippines is hitting the jackpot, and the cash is here to stay

This week in news: The Philippines posts large gaming revenue gains from recent resort and casino developments along Manila Bay, and the risk of capital flight remains relatively low amid prudent government finance and capital controls. Read more about them in this post.

New developments along the Manila bay, like Solaire in Pasay City, have boosted Philippine gaming revenues to significant levels, and more are likely to come as a large PAGCOR gaming complex is being built. (Photo: Flickr/Renzelle Mae Abasolo, CC-BY-2.0)

I’ve decided to restart my previous series highlighting notable pieces of news that don’t really make it into the headlines, but (at least for myself) merit attention and interest. It’ll mostly be about the Philippines, business, and economics, and a little humor in between.

Amidst the pork-barrel scam, its ensuing antics, the Zamboanga crisis, and a new revelation regarding the Corona impeachment, there are at least some things that Filipinos can be happy about: Our investments near the Manila bay have actually brought a significant amount of gambling revenue to our shores, and the economy is unlikely to be affected by the emerging markets crunch.

2013-09-14

On the Effectiveness of Higher Sin Taxes

UPDATE (Sept 16 2014)

This post has been updated with 2014 Q2 data.

UPDATE (Dec 11 2013)

This post only uses data for the first two quarters of 2012. I’ve updated it with the latest 3rd quarter national accounts data in a quick new post, so you might want to check that out afterwards.

Around 1% of household expenditures go toward purchasing cigarettes. (Photo: Flickr/Bachmont, CC BY 2.0)

HOW EFFECTIVE ARE HIGHER SIN TAXES? Last year, President Aquino signed the Sin Tax Bill, raising the effective tax burden on sin products from 26% to 63% within 5 years. It had two goals: (1) raise revenue for the government, and (2) reduce cigarette consumption and negative externality. It’s now been half a year since the new taxes were implemented, and it’s a good time to assess how it’s been achieving its goals so far.

2013-07-13

On What Manila Could Have Been

After Dan Brown, in his new novel titled Inferno, summarily compared the Philippine capital to the “gates of hell,” and caused quite a stir. MMDA Chairman Tolentino expressed disdain in an open letter and Philippine Bishops ‘scolded’ the author. I can only help but think about the state of this expansive metropolis.

2013-07-10

On the Economics of Ticket Scalping

Profiting off the Animo

DLSU has just won a game against Ateneo after two years of losses to the rival. (Photo: Winston Baltasar)

Animo La Salle! My dear alma mater has just won against rival Ateneo in UAAP men’s basketball, 83-72, breaking a six-game losing streak to the Eagles since 2010. Hopefully it’ll continue throughout the season.

2013-07-06

On Melting Coins and Negative Seignorage

We’re running out of coins!

Did you know that the Philippines suffers from a chronic coin shortage, despite coins in circulation being the highest among our ASEAN neighbors? Some of this can be attributed to coin hoarding or keeping coins in alkansyas and tucked under those frogs in commercial establishments, but some can also be attributed to coin smuggling, or the melting down of coins for their metal content.