When You Put Your Heart to It...It's All about Economics
The basic principles of economics goes something like this: the greater the demand for something, the higher the price for that something will be. More people will go produce that something because they know they can make good money of it, creating more competition for that something among the producers. And when there is more competition, the producers will seek to create better version of that something faster and cheaper than others so that s/he can get a bigger share of the demand than others, and make more money.
What about in the opposite case when the demand for something decreases? It is the situation where people all have their hands on something, and think that the version of that something they already possess is the best version that they can possibility get with the limitation of their budgets, resources, and expectations. Or worse yet, they start losing interest in that something and start demanding for something completely different. Of course, no producer is stupid enough to stick around and continue producing that something no one really cares about...quality of that something will surely decline.
Funny how two completely unrelated matters reminded the author of this same textbook example of economic cause and effect on this rainy Sunday evening. The first is the superb performance of the Filipino national team in the ongoing FIBA Asian Championships vis-a-vis the traditional Asian basketball powers. As the Asian nation that was first introduced to basketball (by the American colonizers) and one that still holds best record for any Asian team (bronze medal at World Championship back in 1954), Philippines has strong affinity for the sport.
The affinity is clearly shown by the fact that every street corner in every town is filled with little basketball courts with their tournament participants. The author has not seen such proliferation of street ball outside the US. And after years of strong attention and expectation for breakthroughs from an eager public, the national team has finally reemerged as a regional power in the sport, entering the Finals after defeating Asia #3 South Korea. It is a typical positive feedback cycle where high interest lead to high participation, leading ultimately to fast improving quality at the top level.
Compare that with the downfall of not just Korea, but the traditional Asian basketball powers of Lebanon (suspended), China (massive defeat to Taiwan at Semis), and Japan (did not even make it to knockout stage), and it illustrates just how important public interest in the sport is in really making a difference to development of the sport in a country. Or perhaps more aptly, the expectations of continued excellence driven by previous glory (in case of China especially) causes a certain disinterest that can only be reversed by a shocking realization that that perception no longer holds true.
The second is another tourist disappointment the author unfortunately had to face in his continual one-day provincial journeys. Cavite City, the supposed historical heart of Filipino Revolution against Spain, was in a state of disrepair. The tourist office is shuttered, the central park and the city hall it faces are not at all maintained and seems to be falling apart. The ferry that links the city to Mall of Asia in Manila is discontinued despite opening not that long ago. And all the best views of the city are cordoned off for naval base uses only, with high walls and barbed wires to keep strangers out.
All this is despite a what seems to be an active campaign to promote tourism as a pillar industry by the local government in charge. Perhaps disinterest also plays a major role here. Given the mandatory lessons of Filipino history all Filipinos took up for years in school, few are interested in revisiting those landmarks as busy adults. Conversely, due to the complete absence of Filipino history education in nearly all foreign countries, foreign tourists are extremely rare (so much so that the very name of Cavite City is not mentioned in most tourist guides to the Philippines)
So, the conclusion here would be that the basic rules of supply and demand works not only for basic goods and services we all crave and desire as consumers with certain needs, but our psychological fulfillment as well. If we want a basketball team to win and we do our own part to get people to play more, then eventually the market will allow it to win more. And if we really don't like a certain place despite its significance, all effort to make the place nice and tidy, with all the necessary marketing and advertising will still cause the place to fall apart. Such is the power of economics...
What about in the opposite case when the demand for something decreases? It is the situation where people all have their hands on something, and think that the version of that something they already possess is the best version that they can possibility get with the limitation of their budgets, resources, and expectations. Or worse yet, they start losing interest in that something and start demanding for something completely different. Of course, no producer is stupid enough to stick around and continue producing that something no one really cares about...quality of that something will surely decline.
Funny how two completely unrelated matters reminded the author of this same textbook example of economic cause and effect on this rainy Sunday evening. The first is the superb performance of the Filipino national team in the ongoing FIBA Asian Championships vis-a-vis the traditional Asian basketball powers. As the Asian nation that was first introduced to basketball (by the American colonizers) and one that still holds best record for any Asian team (bronze medal at World Championship back in 1954), Philippines has strong affinity for the sport.
The affinity is clearly shown by the fact that every street corner in every town is filled with little basketball courts with their tournament participants. The author has not seen such proliferation of street ball outside the US. And after years of strong attention and expectation for breakthroughs from an eager public, the national team has finally reemerged as a regional power in the sport, entering the Finals after defeating Asia #3 South Korea. It is a typical positive feedback cycle where high interest lead to high participation, leading ultimately to fast improving quality at the top level.
Compare that with the downfall of not just Korea, but the traditional Asian basketball powers of Lebanon (suspended), China (massive defeat to Taiwan at Semis), and Japan (did not even make it to knockout stage), and it illustrates just how important public interest in the sport is in really making a difference to development of the sport in a country. Or perhaps more aptly, the expectations of continued excellence driven by previous glory (in case of China especially) causes a certain disinterest that can only be reversed by a shocking realization that that perception no longer holds true.
The second is another tourist disappointment the author unfortunately had to face in his continual one-day provincial journeys. Cavite City, the supposed historical heart of Filipino Revolution against Spain, was in a state of disrepair. The tourist office is shuttered, the central park and the city hall it faces are not at all maintained and seems to be falling apart. The ferry that links the city to Mall of Asia in Manila is discontinued despite opening not that long ago. And all the best views of the city are cordoned off for naval base uses only, with high walls and barbed wires to keep strangers out.
All this is despite a what seems to be an active campaign to promote tourism as a pillar industry by the local government in charge. Perhaps disinterest also plays a major role here. Given the mandatory lessons of Filipino history all Filipinos took up for years in school, few are interested in revisiting those landmarks as busy adults. Conversely, due to the complete absence of Filipino history education in nearly all foreign countries, foreign tourists are extremely rare (so much so that the very name of Cavite City is not mentioned in most tourist guides to the Philippines)
So, the conclusion here would be that the basic rules of supply and demand works not only for basic goods and services we all crave and desire as consumers with certain needs, but our psychological fulfillment as well. If we want a basketball team to win and we do our own part to get people to play more, then eventually the market will allow it to win more. And if we really don't like a certain place despite its significance, all effort to make the place nice and tidy, with all the necessary marketing and advertising will still cause the place to fall apart. Such is the power of economics...
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