In the late 1950s, the Filipino economy could reasonably have been described as more advanced than those of its South Asian neighbours. Ever since then, however, it has consistently lagged behind and only really started to grow strongly in the mid-1990s and even then it failed to achieve the growth rates of the rest of Southeast Asia ten years earlier. This book critically analyses the Filipino economy and attempts to explain the problems that it has faced, as well as the solutions that need to be put into practice. This accessible and comprehensive book will be of great use to students, academics and business professionals with an interest in the economies of Asia.