(1) Is the high rate of emigration of labor from the Philippines related to the country's trade policy? (2) Why have migration and accompanying remittances not made much of an impact on the growth and structure of the Philippine economy? (3) Would economic growth and structural change eventually curtail labor emigration? The Philippines' history of labor export and its economic development are contrasted with those of Asian NIEs which have adopted liberal trade regimes. Structural economic and demographic factors combined with an inward-looking industrialization policy have sustained a strong labor outflow from the Philippines, in contrast to the NIEs which are becoming net importers of labor. In the newly emerging integration of Asian economies, the Philippines must develop exports based on factors other than labor intensity (e.g., its highly educated workforce) to maintain a competitive edge.
