Is export of labor a threat or opportunity: the case of bagong bayani (New heroes)

Abstract

The term Dutch Disease, which is used to describe the situation that predicts that a newly discovered natural resource may adversely affect the country's economy when not used with the right economic policies, entered the literature for the first time in November 1977. It was determined that the new natural resource discovered by the Netherlands hurt the country's economy. Not only new natural resources but also tourism incomes, foreign direct investments, or labor exports can cause Dutch disease in some countries such as the Philippines, which is the subject of our study. Workers' remittances abroad as a source of Dutch disease differ from other natural sources in that the source of income is human labor. In this study, Dutch Disease was determined by analyzing the current economic structure in the Philippines with econometric methods.