The State, the Market

and Civil Society and the

Promotion of General Welfare
Prof. Ernesto M. Serote
March 11, 2013

SCURP 2013
A BASIC COURSE IN URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING (ABC in URP)
Training and Extension Services Division,
Asst. Prof. Kristine Follosco-Aspiras Training Director
3/F Cariño Hall, School of Urban and Regional Planning
University of the Philippines - Diliman, Quezon City
March 11-15, 2013
THE THREE-FOLDING IMAGE OF SOCIETY

- Social & Spatial Equity

- Participatory Governance
- Filipino Culture Promotions
& Enrichment

•Knowledge
•Clarity & Coherence
of Values CIVIL SOCIETY STATE • Democratic Governance
•Public Interest (Culture) (Polity) • Securing Justice & Equity

- Wage Levels - Fiscal Policies

- Humane Labor Practices - Infrastructure Support
- Nationalist Economics PRIVATE SECTOR - Labor Policies
- Appropriate Technology (Economy) - Business Climate
- Community -Based Resource - Environment -Friendly Production
Management
- Gender -Sensitive Workplace

• Production & Distribution

of Goods and Services
State or Government

• Secures law and order

• Promotes human rights, social justice

and equity

• Safeguards public interest

Private Sector or Business

• Production and distribution of goods

and services

• Provides gainful employment

• Contributes to capital build up

Civil Society

• Advances civil and political rights

• Develops social and spiritual capacities

• Clarifies and organizes the values of

society

• Advocates the public interest

Government – CSO Interface

• Concern for social and spatial equity

• Promotion and enrichment of Filipino

culture

• Participation especially by the

marginalized
Government – Business Interface

• Conducive business climate

• Job security

• Fiscal incentives to private investments

• Environment-friendly production
Business – CSO Interface

• Humane labor practices

• Gender-sensitive work place

• Acceptable labor-capital substitution

(appropriate technology)

• Nationalist economics
State as “Primus Inter Pares”

• Authority Interpretation – authority to

legislate is unique to the state derived
from sovereignty;
– Police power
– Eminent domain
– Taxation
– National defense
– Administration of justice
– Foreign affairs
State as “Primus Inter Pares”

• Allocation Interpretation – how much of society’s

resources should be left to public consumption
and investment; how much should be left to
private choice
– Natural monopolies (airports, seaports)
– Non-rival goods (national defense)
– Presence of externalities
• Positive (public health program spillover)
• Negative (TURF to prevent over fishing)
– Merit goods (clean safe water)
Three-folding in the Provision of General Welfare
Modes of Facilitating the Market
State-Business-CSO Interface

• Production Interpretation – how much of the goods and

services provided by the government should also be
produced by government itself?
– production support infrastructure (efficient transport &
communications, post-harvest facilities to minimize losses)
– reduction of tariffs on import and export of materials & finished
products
– tax exemptions, holidays and credits
– reduced transaction costs through one-stop shops,
programmatic ECC, no graft and corruption
– absorbing part of the risk of new investors, e.g. guaranteed profit
levels, assurance of peace and order, stable foreign exchange
rates
– maintaining livability and attractiveness of the locality for both
living and making a living.
State-Business-CSO Interface

• Distribution Interpretation – the amount of

resource transfers to private sectors and
individuals and the manner of transferring it
– Transfers to the poorest of the poor to meet basic
needs (CCT)
– Promotion of the full employment and job security
– Raise in salary and wages
– Grant of non-wage benefits
– Price control or stabilization of basic commodities
State-Business-CSO Interface

• Ownership Problem – how much of the

means of production should be owned by
government?
– public ownership of urban land
(Singapore and Hong Kong as case examples)
State-Business-CSO Interface

• Bureaucracy Interpretation – how much of

the total workforce should be employed in
government?
– LGUs as the biggest single employers in local
areas
– Rationale and mode of public sector-created
jobs
(Case of Western European cities)
Thank You !