UP Economist said only TV benefitted from Polls, not the People

From Business Mirror

CONTRARY to common belief, the election spending involved in propping up the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 7.3 percent in the first quarter did not benefit the poor but only the broadcast media, according to an economist from the University of the Philippines (UP).

In a statement, UP economist and former Budget secretary Dr. Benjamin Diokno said without election spending, the economy would have only grown 3.6 percent. Diokno said the main reasons for the 7.3-percent growth in GDP were election spending and low base effects.

However, Diokno said the increase in election spending only benefited the broadcast media, particularly the two major networks.

The economy appears to have grown largely because of election-related spending and low base effects. I estimate that if election-related spending was netted out, [the] first-quarter GDP growth would be in the neighborhood of 3.6 percent, Diokno said.

Broadcast media was [the] fastest-growing activity; but it benefited only the two major networks, he added.

Diokno explained that the activity in broadcast media surged to a staggering 31.4 percent from 1.3 percent during the same quarter last year.

Diokno added that other forms of election spending were spent on one-time expenses like waste collection/disposal, which rose by 9.5 percent. This increase, he said, was mainly due to the preparations like cleaning up clutter before the start of the campaign period.

He added that the increase in rental business for offices was also due to the elections, since candidates rented out office spaces that would serve as their headquarters. Rental business for offices grew by 10.9 percent in the first quarter.

Diokno added that while it was true that government construction grew by 8.2 percent, this was largely because the remaining projects announced in the State-of-the-Nation Address of Mrs. Arroyo were fast-tracked.

Government construction continues to be strong. National and local politicians like to implement projects a few months before the start of the campaign season. The memory of Filipinos is supposed to be rather short, Diokno said.

From: http://ping.fm/kiRBu