Suchergebnisse

This article describes the transformation of the Philippine currency system from a gold exchange standard to a dollar exchange standard during the first half of the twentieth century. During the American colonial period, Philippine foreign trade was closely bound to the United States. In terms of domestic investment, however, it was domestic Filipino or Spanish entrepreneurs and landowners who dominated primary commodity production in the Philippines, rather than American investors. How were both this US-dependent trade structure and the unique production structure of domestic primary commodities reflected in the management of the Philippine currency system? To answer this question, this article first discusses the introduction of the gold standard system in the Philippines in the early twentieth century. Second, the de facto conversion of the Philippine currency system from the gold standard to the dollar exchange standard in the 1920s is described, together with the mismanagement of the currency reserves and the debacle of the Philippine National Bank that functioned as the government depository of the currency reserves in the United States. Third, the formal introduction of the dollar exchange standard during the Great Depression is outlined, a clear example of the dependency of the Philippine currency system on the US in the 1930s.

The paper will discuss what economic recovery means and why economic recovery cannot be attained based on the features of these restructuring agreements. It also sees important to discuss the stance that the country must take with regard its foreign creditors. The government can only determine the Philippine position and not the overall outcome. It should not internalize the interest of foreign creditors. The strategy on the foreign debt primarily involves a political decision, not a technical one. The negotiating stance implemented by the Aquino government has been meant to bring about these three positive developments. New foreign lending would restart in a few months. Foreign investment would begin to flow into the country in sufficiently large amounts. The country's net exports would increase by leaps and bounds.

This study of the Agricultural Bank of the Philippine Government, which was established in 1908 to provide agricultural loans to local fanners, describes the background of bank, focusing on the active role of the local elite. Then, it discusses to what extent the bank served the needs of landlords, and why it stopped operations in 1916, facing a shortage of capital.