if the total wealth or “capital” of the US were distributed evenly, each person there would have access to $512,612 in capital, compared to only $19,351 in the Philippines. That is why an industrious and law-abiding Juan earns more there than here, and more than other workers there.
This proves my point that as capital spreads more evenly, the champions of the past will not last 30 seconds of the first round. Knock Out. Hospital.
Now, wehn Elmat talks about capital spread more evenly, people should really read and get worried. We are coming!!!!
Focus on intangible capital
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 03:04pm (Mla time) 12/24/2007
Why does the Filipino worker mightily succeed when he is in the United States, but not when he is back home? A heart-warming fact: according to our consul general in New York, Cecilia Rebong, the Filipino professionals in the United States earn comparatively more than their counterpart native Americans. Why? The answer may lie in a World Bank (WB) report on the “Wealth of Nations.”
The study shows that if the total wealth or “capital” of the United States were distributed evenly, each person there would have access to $512,612 in capital, compared to only $19,351 in the Philippines. That is why an industrious and law-abiding Juan earns more there than here, and more than other workers there.
To be sure, the WB explains that there are really three kinds of wealth: (1) natural capital – “the sum of nonrenewable resources (including oil, natural gas, coal and mineral resources), cropland, pastureland, forested areas and protected areas”; (2) produced capital – “the sum of machinery, equipment, and structures (including infrastructure)”; and, (3) intangible capital that encompasses raw labor, human capital (the sum of knowledge, skills and know-how of the population), social capital (the level of trust among people in a society and their ability to work together toward common goals) and the quality of institutions essential to good governance, like an independent judiciary, clear property rights, effective revenue collection, nonpolitical military, credible elections and stable rule of law.
Worldwide, natural capital accounts for only 5 percent of total wealth, produced capital for 18 percent, and intangible capital for 77 percent. On the average, every one in the world has a total wealth of $90,000, an amount available to those in Brazil ($87,000), Libya ($89,000) and Croatia ($91,000). This world average is much more than the Philippines’ $19,351, broken down into $1,549 natural, $2,673 produced and $15,129 intangible.
While natural resources help, they are not the most important wealth. Singapore has zero natural capital but is credited with $79,011 produced capital plus $173,595 intangible capital for a total of $252,607. Japan has only $1,513 natural (same as ours) but has $150,258 produced plus $341,470 intangible for a total of $493,241.
The WB study shows that more than three-fourths of the total wealth of the world is intangible. Further, the most significant elements of intangible wealth are education and the rule of law. These two facts imply that while the natural resources and infrastructure priorities of President Macapagal-Arroyo deserve some attention, the much more important focus should be on our intangible capital, like the primacy of education, the promotion of the rule of law, and the strengthening of our democratic institutions. These are the truly lasting legacies. – Artemio Panganiban, Inquirer |
