A survey of current socio-economic condition of muslims in Zamboanga City and Basilan

A SURVEY OF CURRENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC & POLITICAL ROUTINE OF MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN ZAMBOANGA CITY AND BASILAN

A Research Study by Yusop B. Masdal

I. Introduction

This study is aimed at thoroughly examining everyday socio-economic and political routines of Muslims in Zamboanga City and Basilan, with emphasis on economic issues, in order that a wider and more conclusive perspective may be gained on these aspects, obtaining direct observations on the issues presented herein.

As a beneficial consequence, this study would bring forth highly-verified information that will be entirely useful and significant to the development efforts in Muslim Mindanao and therefore contributing in a palpable manner to the peace efforts thereat.

When the desired information and data would be collated in the final results of this study, government and other concerned entities --- such as developmental non-governmental organizations and international funding agencies --- could gain highly provable insights of routines and daily socio-economic and political activities or routines (especially on economic or livelihood activities) of Muslims and members of ethnic minorities in Zamboanga City and Basilan, thus, allowing a more effective creation of economic opportunities for the subjects of this study, gaining initial foothold on a series of economic activities that the respondents are more accustomed to, and are most convenient with.

II. Background of the Study

It is well-known verity that continuous aids and sizable funding have been injected to the peace-building efforts in Mindanao, a region that was torn and still continues to suffer decades of war and strife between secessionist groups aiming at independent territory and government military forces.

It is also of wider nuance that often, these livelihood programs often goes to naught or had resulted to low degree of success as their social impact were limited to a minimum.

It is the premise that this study aims to take-off, where livelihood programs and other economic developmental strategies for Muslim Mindanao should be designed and programmed in accordance with available resources at hand and more importantly should be attuned to the routine and daily economic activities of respondents, allowing easier integration of process and methods, like being fish in a water, where economic assistance would mean helping the subjects embark on economic endeavors that they are more keen or adept at, and not artificially locate them into alien activities that they are not familiar with in the first place, having no prior experience or being alien to such economic endeavors.

The main aims of this study would be:

1. The determination of the best and most effective manner of giving economic assistance to Muslims in Zamboanga City and Basilan.
2. How to help and assist them on economic opportunities that they are more familiar with, so that there would be proper matching of aids and capability of respondents, not forcing them or inducing them to have access on funding only to fail in sustaining them as economic aid is not suited to their routine social and economic daily activities.

Thus, routine social aspects of the respondents would subsequently be collated and defined as well as their political views and insights, for economic activities are directly related to the social surroundings and political environment.

It is of great note that the lack of livelihood activities or opportunities among Muslims and members of ethnic minorities in Mindanao remains to be one of the biggest factors in the negation of a lasting peace solution in Mindanao.

An effective economic strategy in this region should be one of the best options in resolving long-lasting conflicts and issues there.

III. Conceptual Framework

Figure 1.1 exhibits the basic structure of this study, on a step-by-step and chronological manner. First to be identified are aims and goals, such end-results as poverty-reduction among the population queried upon in this study, as one among several means of reducing instances for conflict in Mindanao, as war and chaos are on huge part due to economic discontentment.

The means of obtaining the end-results are mostly on enhancement of economic capacity. To gain high overview on this, the study seek first to identify the most prevalent livelihood activity of the respondents and then upon that premise, the study thereon aims to generate information on how to most effectively alleviate economic conditions of the respondents based on data and information gathered about their basic and general socio-economic and political routines.

And lastly and most importantly, the study aims to find means and methods that would lead to the attainment of the aims and goals of the study.

FIGURE 1.1

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

The review of related materials for this research work will focus on extant economic theories that the researcher deems to be critical in the resolution of the hypotheses involved. Also included are economic policies that have been applied already, experiences that are related to the main issues of this study and previous studies made with aims and contents similar to this work.

A.) ECONOMIC THEORIES and PRINCIPLES

a.) COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE^[1] - is a principle in international trade that expresses the fact that the efficiency of country A relative to country B, varies from product to product.

A country has comparative advantage in products for which its relative efficiency is highest.

Comparative Advantage as to Factor Endowment states that a country tends to have a comparative advantage in products using factors which are relatively abundant and cheap in that country.

In simple terms, a country must produce primarily products or commodities that it has comparative advantage over other countries and not those that it lacks of.

The originator of this trade theory, David Ricardo^[2], had defined and explained Comparative Advantage in an example involving England and Portugal. In Portugal it is possible to produce both wine and cloth with less labor than it would take to produce the same quantities in England. However the relative costs of producing those two goods are different in the two countries. In England it is very hard to produce wine, and only moderately difficult to produce cloth. In Portugal both are easy to produce. Therefore while it is cheaper to produce cloth in Portugal than England, it is cheaper still for Portugal to produce excess wine, and trade that for English cloth. Conversely England benefits from this trade because its cost for producing cloth has not changed but it can now get wine at a lower price, closer to the cost of cloth. The conclusion drawn is that each country can gain by specializing in the good where it has comparative advantage, and trading that good for the other.^[3]

b.) REVEALED COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE^[4] - we can learn more about comparative advantage by examining what countries actually export and import. Professor Bela Balassa has made such an analysis for the major industrial countries:

Consider this formula:

COUNTRY A EXPORTS of PRODUCT A / WORLD EXPORT OF PRODUCT A

COUNTRY A EXPORTS OF ALL MANUFACTURE / WORLD EXPORT OF ALL MANUFACTURE

The result would be the “revealed comparative advantage index” of country concerned.

Using this method, TABLE 1.1 exhibits the top three countries in terms of revealed comparative advantage and the leading products of each.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

c.) PORTER’S DIAMOND – In his work “The Competitive Advantage of Nations”^[5], Michael Porter explained and discusses on how a nation can viably be competitive in the world market, by learning to upgrade and update and keeping up with the rest of the competitors.

He had emphasized that industries prosper due mainly to a vibrant home environment, one that is forward looking, dynamic and challenging. Porter enumerates four attributes that would enhance a nation’s competitiveness, what is termed as the ‘diamond of national advantage’, namely factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries and firm strategy, structure, and rivalry.

These four attributes should interplay to hone a nation’s trade and economic advantage.

[...]

^[1] Lloyd G. Reynolds, “ECONOMICS : A General Introduction”, Yale University, HOMEWOOD Publishing, Illinois 60430

^[2] David Ricardo, “On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation”, London: John Murray, 1821. First published 1819.

^[3] WIKIPEDIA : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage

^[4] Bala Balassa and Associates, Studies in Trade Liberalization (Baltimore, John Hopkins Press, 1967) Chapter 1.

^[5] Porter, M. E. The Competitive Advantage of Nations. New York: Free Press, 1990. (Republished with a new introduction, 1998.)