Market Economy Seminar

November 13, 2006(Monday)
Mr. Siegfried Herzog, the new resident representative of FNF Philippines welcomed the participants of the Second Liberal Leadership Training Seminar at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center in Makati by introducing the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the fundamentals of Liberalism and the place of the free market in it. The foundation’s advocacy on political and civic education has gone beyond the boundaries of Germany, reaching the Philippines and the rest of the world.
The Market-Price Mechanism was ably discussed by Mr. Herzog, an economist who gave a simplified and clear explanation of the principles of supply and demand. Applying the supply and demand curves, participants were able to learn and appreciate the use of a graph to analyze the free market. The active involvement of participants led to discussions of determinants of demand and supply such as increase in income or increase in the number of sellers. Issues on government interventions such as subsidies and price fixing particularly its adverse effects were also raised.
In the afternoon, the participants were divided into four working groups to identify concerns and issues with the free market. The plenary resolved that the Philippines must be ready for globalization.
Economic Systems and Principles of Market Economy were also presented. In here, the participants learned the different ways on how an economy can be organized.
A video presentation entitled “Globalization is Good” capped Day 1.