MANILA - The global economic crisis had the least impact on the Philippine economy when compared to South Korea and Thailand, according to a recent study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In a paper entitled "How has Asia fared in the global crisis?," the multilateral lender said the Philippines was better off than the 2 countries because it was not as highly integrated with global financial markets.

On top of this, the ADB said money sent home by overseas Filipino workers, which is key in keeping the economy afloat, did not fall sharply as initially expected.

"It could also be seen as indicative of a historically underperfoming economy. After all, the Philippines' minimal exposure to global financial markets, weak export growth, and heavy dependence on remittances all contributed to shielding the economy from the immediate impacts of the crisis," the ADB said in the report.

The Philippines is looking at a gross domestic product (GDP) growth range of 0.8% to 1.8% this year despite damages wrought by recent storms thanks to "stronger-than-expected remittances."

Earlier, the government said damages from twin storms "Ondoy" and "Pepeng" (international code names Ketsana and Parma, respectively), may shave off 0.22% and 0.11% from the country's full-year GDP growth, respectively.

Jobs

Of the 3 countries, the ADB said Thailand suffered the most in terms of reduced growth in GDP. Korea, meanwhile, bore the brunt of reduced employment.

"Unlike in Korea and Thailand, the crisis' impact on growth in the Philippines was rather small, although it has become significant since the first quarter of 2009," the ADB said.

The multilateral lender's report also noted the resilience of the country's service sector, particularly the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

"Although BPO firms in the Philippines often serve US and Eurozone firms, their cost-effectiveness may have shielded them from the immediate impacts of the crisis when client firms started cost-cutting measures," the ADB said.

Despite this, however, the ADB said the country's industrial sector suffered significant reductions in employment as a result of the crisis. "Overall, the Philippines lost an estimated 0.95 million jobs from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009 due to the crisis," it said.