Abstract
At the end of 1985 the Philippines had the lowest per capita income of all the ASEAN member nations. Indeed, the economy had contracted so rapidly since 1982 that per capita incomes had fallen to the levels of a decade earlier (Table 4.1). Its external debt was nearly equal to gross national product (GNP) and was three times the value of exports. The domestic banking system and other financial institutions were in deep trouble, investment (as a share of GNP) was the lowest for more than two decades, and despite the downfall of Ferdinand Marcos and the accession to power of Mrs Cory Aquino, the country continued to be in the grip of the biggest political and economic crisis since the Second World War.