A 'demographic window' of opportunity

By Felipe Salvosa II

Is a large population a boon or a bane?

The debate has been going on for centuries. In the Philippines, it flares up whenever lawmakers take up bills proposing to control population growth.

In recent months, however, the government’s top economic managers -- echoed by a number of private-sector analysts -- have cited the advantages of the country’s demographic profile, changing the tone of the population debate.

In March 2012, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. told the Philippine Investment Forum that the Philippines would be the last major economy in Asia to enter the “demographic sweet spot,” and this would happen by 2015. In May, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said a huge working population was expected to accelerate economic growth.

The BSP chief pointed to the Philippines’ young population, which, at a median age of 22.2, is even younger than neighboring countries like Malaysia (25), Indonesia (27.8), and Vietnam (28.2).