HOW DOES THE PHILIPPINES FARE IN TERMS OF INNOVATION?

The Philippines figured in the latest edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) among emerging Asian markets found “active in improving their innovation performance.” While Singapore ranked highest in Asia — and seventh in a global list of 127 economies — the Philippines led in information and communications technology (ICT) service exports, Malaysia exhibited the best cluster development and ICT use, Thailand topped in terms of quality of publications and trademarks, while Vietnam was best in terms of education expenditure. At the same time, the report found the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam showing low research and development levels, hampering their use of innovation networks in Asia. The index measures the performance of economies in 81 indicators grouped under seven pillars, namely: institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, creative output, as well as knowledge and technology output. Ratings for these pillars are used to determine an economy’s overall GII score that ranges from 0 to 100, the latter being the best possible grade.