ABSTRACT
The Philippines has an open market economy. However, its overall development is highly uneven. Today, agriculture accounts for one-fourth of the gross domestic product but provides jobs for half of the labor force. There is a large urban informal sector, estimated by some economists to contribute as much as 40–50 percent of the gross national product (GNP). 1 Compared to the newly industrializing countries of Asia, industry is still relatively underdeveloped, with its share in overall employment fluctuating between 14 and 16 percent. The employment share of manufacturing, the most important industrial sub-sector, is only 9–11 percent of total employment. 2
