The government must pursue policy measures, including those that raise the quality of domestic demand imperative for constant upgrading, to enable the country to have a globally competitive services sector.
Ramonette Serafica, senior research fellow of state think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), identified other interdependent sets of policies that create national advantage in industry.
Serafica said these are policies to enhance a country’s position in the factors of production relevant to the industry, ensure the presence of supporting and related industries, and influence competitive behavior among firms.
"Together, these actions if pursued will produce the environment where firms are able create and more importantly, sustain competitive advantage in services,” she said in a research paper submitted to select entities, including The Daily Tribune.
With these policy actions, Serafica noted that the government itself becomes a source of national competitive advantage for all industries. "Thus, as a source of competitive advantage, the need to upgrade and innovate must also apply to government,” she said.
Serafica underscored the need for bureaucratic reform, including creating a dedicated agency for key sectors or policy areas, separating regulatory functions from development functions and strengthening regulatory capacities and resources.
"How the bureaucracy is structured is important for effectiveness and efficiency. It must be reviewed in light of the national vision of creating globally competitive service industries,” she added.//
Help services sector be globally competitive, government urged
