Urges policymakers to push for digitization in navigating inflation
ECONOMIC growth remained steady on a global scale as inflation fell faster in most regions with global headline inflation expected to fall to 5.8 percent this year and 4.4 percent in 2025.
With this steady growth and stable decline in global inflation, Asia was said to be ontrack in contributing to global growth by two-thirds, making Asia the most dynamic region in the world.
Despite the deceleration in headline inflation, pressures could still be felt in both labor market and prices of commodities such as rice.
All of these were discussed at The Manila Times economic forum, titled “Insights 2024: Immersive, generative globalization.”
At the forum, key individuals shared their insights regarding the ongoing global inflation and provided recommendations on what policymakers should prioritize to sustain growth in the coming years.
Ragnar Gudmundsson, International Monetary Fund resident representative to the Philippines, said during his speech, “In our view, this is the time to strengthen the resilience of Asia’s economies. For that, fiscal considerations are key to restoring buffers and safeguarding sustainability.”
“Strong financial supervision should be a priority and systemic risk monitoring is needed to safeguard financial sector vulnerabilities. This is crucial in an environment, where interest rates are still high,” he added.
Gudmundsson stressed that digitization of the economy would help promote financial inclusion, boost the efficiency of government services and support service-sectorled growth.
With the Philippines being highly dependent on the service sector, Gudmundsson said it would be essential to upskill the digital skills of the workforce in order to boost labor productivity.
“This will require upskilling of the labor force to leverage artificial intelligence tools as well as efforts to develop the country’s digital infrastructure, especially outside the urban centers,” Gudmundsson remarked.
Gudmundsson further added that to harness the digital economy and foster inclusive growth, policies must continue to gear toward focusing on targeted support programs that benefit the vulnerable groups such as the food stamp program.