By CFO Innovation Asia Staff | Monday, February 27, 2017 - 10:58

The Philippines jumped 12 spots from 70th to 58th in the 2017 Index of Economic Freedom.

The index measures the effects of policy changes on the overall quality of life. The study attributes fiscal gains, monetary stability, consumption, and government spending for the rise in the rankings.

In spite of a weak global demand in 2016-17, Philippines grew at 6.8 percent driven by an increase in investment and consumer spending.

The country was rated their highest on fiscal health (97.2) followed by government spending (89.4) as it maintained its public debt levels at 37.1 percent of gross domestic product.

Financial freedom was ranked at 60, while monetary freedom was higher at 80.6 in line with the Central Banks policies for maintaining price stability, issuing new banking licenses, and maintaining low inflation.

Reduction in cost and time for managing licensing requirements led to a gradual improvement in the business climate rankings while investment freedom witnessed no change due to investment restrictions in several sectors.

Philippines scored low in property rights, judicial effectiveness, and government integrity due to a weak state of law. The government is pursuing tax and legislative reforms to facilitate entrepreneurship, eliminate corruption and improve the ease of doing investments to attract investments and achieve a growth of eight percent by 2022.

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Philippines Improves in Economic Freedom ranking | CFO innovation - CFO innovation ASIA