National Accounts in Philippine Economic History: A Preliminary Report on Data Gathering and Research Trends

Abstract

This paper aims to lay down the foundation for a research project compiling the historical statistics of the Philippine economy, as part of the Research Unit for Statistical Analysis in Social Science (2003-2008), the Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo. First, I detail what we have accomplished in the gathering of historical data on the Philippines, mainly from US university libraries and archives. Second, I share what I worked on for part of the research on Philippine foreign trade. Third, a brief review is made of research studies on Philippine national income accounts in Philippine economic history. Fourth, I discuss, tentatively, some historical factors that need to be considered for an accurate estimate of Philippine national income accounts.