Chicken or Fish? (Lysch Gotao)

Have you ever been faced with the decision of having to choose between two different things?

As students, I am quite sure there have been days when we were torn between watching the new episode of Gossip Girl or going back to the salt mines and start studying for our upcoming exams. If the world was perfect, we could have it all. Unfortunately, it isn’t and life is all about making choices. So, if you choose to find out whether or not Nate and Serena hook up, you lose out on the opportunity of having more time to study (and possibly even a higher grade). However, if you suppress your urge to procrastinate and study, then you miss out on some Gossip Girl action.

Of course, not all issues tend to be that trivial. There are some decisions that have to be made which could affect the entire course of your life. Every now and then, these missed opportunities could be a cause of regret for us. For some, it might have been a choice between entering Ateneo or LaSalle (but of course, we all know that’s not even a debatable question… right guys? Haha!), remain in the country or study abroad, maybe even a choice between love or your career (do I detect a tinge of bitterness? Ahem ahem. I’m kidding.) A few minutes ago, I was faced with the dilemma of having to finish my Political Science paper or posting a blog entry. Well, you guys can pretty much tell what decision I made.

I am someone who is not too keen on regrets. In fact, I think there’s no point looking back in the past and mulling about missed chances because what’s done is done. Recently however, I’ve come to understand that one way or the other, we end up with regrets. If you choose to be content, you’ll miss out on what could have been if you kept going. If you don’t choose contentment, then you also miss out on the opportunity to experience what satisfaction can bring you. Quite a pessimistic take on things huh? Point is, we all miss out on something if we choose to give it up for another choice.

I can regale you with my stories of missed chances (and lost loves? I digress.) But I think it would be better to just cut my entry short, so I can leave you time to think and reflect about your own missed chances, regrets (maybe for some), or upcoming decisions you need to make.

Discrimination! (Rey de la Cruz Jr.)

About a month ago my friends and I went on a hiking trip to Mt. Maculot in Batangas. While you can’t really consider me as the “man of the outdoors” type, I am also not one who shies away from these activities. In fact, I even look forward to these things if only to get away from the drudgeries of everyday city life. Sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses. Sometimes you realize that the usual beer-in-the-bar routine just won’t do it for you. So you try to explore other activities that seem more meaningful, like getting drunk on top of Mt. Maculot for example.

Needless to say, I was really excited to go on this trip. It’s unlike anything I have ever done before. When I was in grade school, we never went on camping trips because I was lucky enough to be enrolled in a Chinese school where everyone was afraid of being kidnapped. Just think about it, a weekend away from Ateneo schoolwork. I don’t know about you, but for me that’s enough incentive to climb a mountain!

The climb wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I think I slipped a couple of times but my butt remained unscathed so that’s good enough for me. The view was utterly breathtaking. Words alone won’t do it any justice, you have to really see it for yourself. If you looked to your left you can see the Taal Lake for its entire splendor. When you look to your right, you get to see the beaches of Punta Fuego. We also met other climbers and foreigners who were already on their way down.

It probably took us close to 3 hours just to reach the top. But when I finally got there, I was not prepared for what I saw.

May mga sari-sari store sa tuktok! Kung alam ko lang hindi ko na sana binitbit yung 4 litro ng mineral water pataas! Apparently, they sold the products for much higher prices. For example they sold a 1.5 liter bottle of Coke for 90 pesos. Which is actually understandable since you have to take into consideration the amount of effort it takes to lug bottles of Coke up the mountain. The stores can also dictate their prices because the consumers seem willing to buy the products despite their relatively high prices. If you're really craving for Coke, and you have to trek a jungle for atleast 3 hours in order to get to the nearest 7-11, I think you wouldn't mind having it for 90 pesos.

I was really yearning for the sweet taste of Coke especially after going through the kind of terrain we went through. But 90 pesos was just too much me. Which made me wonder how much profit these stores were able to make. But then I remembered the foreigners we met on the way up. Surely these Japanese and Korean tourists wouldn't mind the price. In fact, it's actually lower compared to what they have back home.

Marunong pala sila ate ng price discrimination!

Jian'Guo Lu (Nina Niguidula)

Jian’Guo Lu(Lu=street) is a street in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, near the train station, famous for its computer merchandise and other gadgets. It sells, as expected from Taiwan, computers, gadgets and other computer components at a lower bargain price. That even I and my friends, who picked to go to Taiwan to lessen travel costs, would buy goods from Jian’Guo Lu instead of buying this merchandise in the Philippines. We would often buy together as to get a bigger discount because of the quantity that we have already purchased. Computers and laptops are cheaper there especially, durable & reliable Taiwanese brands like ACER & ASUS. Other laptops there costs less because most of them are manufactured in Taiwan, for instance my friend brought a HP laptop in Jian’Guo Lu for 35 K Php, a model which would be about 50 K here in the Philippines. But wait! There’s more! He got a free, HP printer with the laptop. I don’t think you can find a deal like that here in the Philippines.

We also bought cameras from Jian’Guo Lu, we decided to buy together 2 Samsung Digital Cameras, one costing first costing 7,000 NTD(New Taiwan Dollars, 1 NTD=1.3Php) and the other about 10, 000 NTD. Both with more than 7 Megapixels, a 2 GB memory and battery. The cameras were sold to us at the final price of 5,000 NTD and 8,800 NTD. The saleslady also threw in for free this cleaner cloth, as she saw we were overly-interested on it (only because the CLEANING cloth was branded MARUMI).

We can see here that the market in Jian’Guo Lu exhibited price discrimination by altering the price through the change in total quantity or total amount that was purchased. We can also see here that Taiwan had an advantage in selling this kind of merchandise, for a lesser price as inputs or supply of these merchandise was easily available in the country. For example, Taiwan's Premier Chemical & Electronic Chemical Material Manufacturer Eternal developed and produce for the highly specialized electronic chemical raw materials industry, producing Copper-Clad Laminates and Dry Film Photoresist for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) applications (for computer screens). This of which is a good example of inputs readily available in Taiwan for such merchandise like computers.

So if ever you go to Taiwan, save up for bargain computer merchandise, don’t underestimate Taiwan braded products like ACER and ASUS as they are very durable and less pricey.

Taiwan's Premier Chemical & Electronic Chemical Material Manufacturer
Eternal Chemical Co. Ltd., Kaohsiung Science Park, Taiwan

50 Cent (Rey de la Cruz Jr.)

It was bound to happen. It was only a matter of time. Yes, ladies, gentlemen (and those in between) the 50 centavo fare increase was finally put into effect yesterday. That puts the minimum fare at P8.00. It doesn’t really come as a shock since oil prices have gone up almost every week. Just to demonstrate how much things have changed in recent years, the price of gas per liter when I was in high school was only 18 pesos. Back then, I didn’t care much about gas prices since I didn’t have a car. Now that I’m in college, gas prices have ballooned to a staggering 50 pesos per liter. Even though I still don’t have my own car, it’s hard to neglect the fact that the price of gas has become insanely astronomical. Obviously, jeepneys like all other automobiles need gas in order to function. Thus if the cost of operating increases, it becomes the consumers burden to bear.

When you think about it, 50 centavos is really not a lot. If you try giving a street beggar or a parking boy in Katipunan 50 centavos, you’ll probably just end up hurting his pride. I wouldn’t even bother picking that up if someone dropped it on the street. For Ateneans who don’t really ride Jeeps save for outreach programs, they could care less about the fare increase. But to the “Average Joe” (or as in this case the “Average Juan”), the fare increase hurts more than it seems. Think about it. Let’s say you need to go to and from school or work every single day. That would mean an additional peso daily, which leads to an added cost of 30 pesos in a month. For the family who has a very tight budget, this would be equal to 4 packs of Lucky Me Instant Noodles that they won’t be able to eat. For the family that barely gets to eat 3 meals a day, this is disastrous to say the least. And we don’t really have any choice. Transportation is a necessity. It’s the backbone of any economy. No matter how much the fare increases, people will still go along for the ride.

The fare increase is not an issue that only the Average Juan has to bear. This also has repercussions to the well-off. Since oil is a prime commodity, this will greatly affect the prices of other products and services as well. Employers will probably encounter intensified clamor for an across-the-board wage increase. It’s a vicious cycle.

Analysts say that this oil-price hike might go on until July or August… which further diminishes my chances of having my own car. Who knew 50 centavos can have that much effect on my life?

Ecomonalisa (Nina Niguidula)

Back when I was in Taiwan, I had an Economics class, The Economics of Experiences, the Arts and Entertainment. It was interesting as it focused on the applications of concepts that I have long learned in all my economics classes. But in this case, it’s a little bit more interesting because it deal with a subject that, I personally, as a fan of anything artistic, was interested in. In many ways it was interesting because first of all some concepts like demand and supply was quite different. For example, the arts, instead of having a downward sloping demand curve like any normal good, it has a upward sloping curve due to the fact that it is a capital good. In short, when these goods are sold, there is more demand when the price is higher. I though, weird, who would buy more of something with a higher price? It is ludicrous, but for these masterpieces, it is a norm, as we use these artworks as an investment or “capital” based on expectations of its future increase in price.

While prices determine the demand for these artworks, characteristics of individual consumers are also important just like the level of education of consumers influence demand for art and entertainment goods. For example if one did not know Da Vinci, would the Mona Lisa matter as much to him or her, or if we haven’t read The Da Vinci Code, would the separation of Christ and the apostle beside him in the form of a V-shape attract us to the artwork, The Last Supper? Most likely this would not be the case.

This example of stock information and knowledge can be an attribute that influence the searching and appreciation of these products. Most arts and entertainment products cannot be evaluated of its value as it does not contain information that would enable the consumer to do so. We must first consume an artwork, better yet, a book and read its content before knowing its value or if it is worth the money that we have spent. More so in the realm of performing arts such as theater, ballet or a Maroon 5 concert, which we would only know if the thousand plus tickets were worth it after the concert itself and extensive staring at the lead singer Adam Levine.

Therefore, us buyers should decide and put a tentative value upon the art or entertainment good before knowing the actual value and consumption of the good. Here we can definitely that art and entertainment consumption is distinct from the consumption tangible consumption goods.

The Economics of Experience, Arts and Entertainment by Ake E. Andersson and David Emmanuel Andersson

Time to Tighten the Purse Strings? (Lysch Gotao)

I am sure that those reading this entry at this moment have purchased at least one kind of product in their entire lives, whether it be coffee, shampoo or rolls of toilet paper. As consumers, we are all quite sensitive to the price changes of certain goods. In my experience, after undergoing the Junior Term Abroad program and living in a foreign country for almost half a year, I have become more mindful of the products I consume, specifically their prices, in order to minimize costs. It was definitely different from the life I was used to. Furthermore, living on a budget forced me to become more economical about the purchases I made.

You might be wondering…what point is this girl trying to make? Well, if you are up to date on current events (or at least read the newspapers' headlines once in awhile), you would have noticed that oil prices have increased significantly the past months. As oil prices soar, prices of consumer goods also follow suit. Moreover, the recent decline in the United States’ crude oil inventories has hit the European and Asian stock markets as well. If the supply of oil decreases, its price goes up which would mean higher input costs for firms that produce consumer goods. These higher input costs translate to a surge in the prices of their products, which in the end, directly affects us consumers and our budgets. Inflation has always been a pain in the neck. No more McDonald’s french fries for me then. Furthermore, the country is experiencing a shortage in the supply of rice and it now has to deal with the price increase of consumer goods, which of course includes rice. I am no economist, but it looks like this is going to pose a real problem for us Filipinos.

The more obvious effect caused by the oil price increase is (or will be) the rise in transportation costs. I just recently added gasoline to my car a few days ago and a full tank cost me 2,000 PHP. The last time I did that, which I admit was quite some time ago, it cost me around 1,400-1,600 PHP! The 400-600 peso increase would have bought me at least 15 large sized packs of french fries from McDonalds! Additionally, if you are planning a trip abroad, it might be a good idea to start booking your tickets as early as now to avoid dealing with the increase in fares.

Actually, in times of soaring prices, we really do not have the luxury of spending our money on unnecessary items since the purchasing power of our money is weakened. We then try to adjust our consumption of goods, depending on the quantity that we need/want and its price, as well as our budgets. Bottom line here is that as prices of oil, consumer products, and more or less everything else escalate, the consumers are left to deal with their lower purchasing power and increased cost of living. And for the Philippines, it looks like we may be in for a wild ride in the coming future.

Gohan! (MM Tan)

While I was in Japan for my Junior Term Abroad (JTA) Program, I, together with nine other companions from the Ateneo, decided to have a “pot money” which was to be a communal fund for our expenses, mostly for food. More than evading the hassles of cooking by ourselves, we resorted to this because we wanted to save, given Japan’s high standard of living.

Being Filipinos, plus the fact that Japanese rice is one of the best in the world, the bulk of our expenses went mostly for the purchase of such staple food. It took up about half of our weekly expenses (we would consume 10 kilos of rice a week, which would cost us about 5000 yen), which got us into thinking of lessening our consumption or looking for alternative forms of carbohydrates that would both please our palate and satisfy our hunger.

We considered having potatoes, pasta, or even wanting to give the low-carb diet a shot just to be able to save a bit. In the end, we decided to stick with having rice meals as often as our pockets would allow, just because the Asians in us couldn’t let go of stuffing ourselves with rice – better rice, at that.

Although this was a collective decision, most of us had varying opinions regarding our willingness to give up rice for various alternatives. I, for one, was open to the idea of giving up rice and eating pasta (which costs less), in exchange for more money for, say, snacks. A friend was willing to give up rice entirely, not just for her diet, but for more spending money for shopping. The others, however,  just couldn’t take rice off their diet and were not willing to trade it for any substitutes just because they have gotten used to it being part of their daily meals.

Given this scenario, we can see how my companions and I have varying marginal rates of substitution when it comes to our rice consumption. Everything depended on our levels of utility, or the amount of satisfaction that would be given by rice. In the end, we all came to a point that although we all had different perspectives with regards to substituting rice for other filling alternatives, we simply had to resort to saving our money for other reasons rather than not being able to give way to our hungry stomachs. 

Labor and the Law of Diminishing Returns (MM Tan)

While doing a company research background on my aunt’s office for my operations management class, I was made aware of  a problem which they used to encounter – that is, the presence of several employees under her who were already in their 50’s. Having been in the company for decades now, my aunt was not too keen on the thought of firing them because of the loyalty they had shown. However, this happened at a time when the costs of inputs such as electricity, raw materials, and labor rates were increasing rapidly. My aunt was stuck, and had to make several drastic changes to be able to maintain the company’s stability.

A friend of hers recommended that she consider laying off workers, particularly those who are already too old for the jobs that they have been handling. More than knowing that they would be better off without the stress provided for by having a job, laying off these employees and not replacing them with other people would, in turn, lessen their costs. Having close-to-senior-citizens as workers may sometimes be a hindrance to a company, as there are other qualified applicants who are more able and fit to work.

The law of diminishing returns tells us that there comes a point when even at an increasing number of inputs, the level of output diminishes. In reality, this is caused by many factors, such as failure to be productive when in a group, the lack of other inputs to support such increase in labor, and the like.

The same holds true when working for a school project in groups. While the saying “two heads are better than one” often make sense, it is not always the case, especially when these heads tend to clash and not make sense out of things. Back in high school, our chemistry laboratory report meetings would always result to clashes and unresolved dilemmas, both in the unanswered chemistry problems and personal issues. We were six in a group then. One day, when one of my classmates was absent, there was a sudden change in the working atmosphere. Although there was still the expected clashing of ideas, we were more or less able to get the job done faster since we had fewer members to deal with, which meant fewer arguments and more time to get things done.

It’s true that we deal with the law of diminishing returns almost everyday.  The way I see it, it’s all about being productive and making the most out of what is given to you, regardless of the number of people around you.

On-line Shopping Pinoy Style (Mau Padilla)

Since its development, the Internet has revolutionized our lives and shopping is no exception. You can shop for almost anything on-line nowadays. It unquestionably saves a lot of your time and effort and sometimes, it is even cheaper to buy on the net. However, like everything else, having pros, its also has its cons such as questions of credibility, unreliability of the online store. Moreover, people had/still have doubts about paying using their credit cards online, as with regards to safety.

For the longest time, the Philippines’ online shopping industry has been very inactive as compared to those of other countries, especially those in America ands Europe. It is only recently that a lot of Pinoys actually do regular online shopping. However, contrary to the usual form of online shopping- accessing online shopping websites or official company websites, here in the country, a social network website is used. Who would have thought that this using this as a platform for all the firm’s transactions would actually work.

The mentioned website is Multiply. A lot of social-networking websites are mushrooming nowadays, but what makes this site so special that it has become the country’s online shopping center?

Being familiar with it since I’m a multiply user myself, I was able to point out the features that made it “the one.” First and foremost, I think it’s because of its convenience in terms of uploading photos. The albums are also very organized and this is exactly what an online retailer needs as it is almost impossible to sell something online without photos! Second, the retailer can customize its own website design. Third, the calendar and blog helps make announcement and promotions easier. Lastly and most importantly, contacts are easily added since a hefty number of Filipinos already use Multiply and updates are hassle-free!

Online shopping somewhat works like conventional online stores wherein the shopper looks at the product, checks the price and orders it. The big difference however, lies in the payment method. Usually, we are required to pay via our credit cards when we purchase from online stores but with multiply, your transactions does not have to involve a credit card. This can be both a good and bad thing. It is inconvenient to those who rely on their credit cards but for those who do not have credit cards, this is definitely a good thing. The payment methods accepted by most online stores in Multiply right now are direct bank deposits and G-cash money-transfer service provided by Globe Telecom. G-cash of course is the more convenient alternative as transactions take less than a minute and queuing in banks are unnecessary. Another point to be taken note of is that it is unusual that the sellers throws in shipping costs so you have to pay extra for that but nonetheless, it arrives pretty fast within the next day or two.

Some of the usual risks still exist in Multiply but the availability and utilization of this technology has definitely made more opportunities for traders and offered more convenience and choices for the consumers. The lesson learned is that in competitive markets, it is about having an edge and exploring business possibilities utilizing the technology offered by the internet and Multiply is no exception.

Flying without the frills (Mau Padilla)

When I was a kid, I can clearly remember my parents telling me that airline tickets are very costly and as customers, we did not really have much of a choice since Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the only airline available for domestic routes within the country, or if not, then at least for our usual route, Cagayan de Oro-Manila.

As I grew up, I then heard of other airlines entering the market. Some have failed and some stayed. Moreover, as time passed, airline tickets were noticeably getting cheaper. This is definitely due to competitors entering the market.

Taking Cebu Pacific’s case for example, as PAL’s competitor, it started small, with about the same offerings and prices, or usually just a bit cheaper compared to PAL. However, as years passed, one can see the tremendous changes it has made to its operating structure. They changed from a full-service airline to a low-cost airline.



Low-cost airlines have been operating since the mid-90’s in other parts of the world and it is only recently that our country got a very much-needed one. It’s a good thing that Cebu Pacific actually adopted the system. And as an added bonus, they had the first-mover advantage, giving it the edge in building its name as a low-cost airline in the industry. The move was definitely a win-win situation. We are currently witnessing the fruits of the company’s strategic move as proven by its ever-increasing market share. As for the customers, it is indubitable that more Filipinos are able to experience traveling, most especially to other Asian countries in the region, at a fraction of its usual costs.

So what is it that makes it possible for an airline company to charge outrageously low fares? From traveling on Cebu Pacific as well as other budget airlines in Europe such as Ryanair, Sterling and Norwegian, I have noticed a lot of commonalities among them. First, the cabins hold a single passenger class. An airline usually utilizes a single type of airplane, as explained in numerous in-flight magazines I read, this helps in reducing costs as to maintaining the planes. As with regards to fares, all fares offered are with accordance to demand and supply, thus super low fares are still in a way, compensated. Tickets are usually issued online, eliminating third-party costs. Talk about the effects of technological improvements to economics! Utilization of aircraft is maximized and employees play multiple roles.





However, low-cost airlines also have its costs, such as lesser value-added services, for some cases, landing on secondary airports and late/early hours. But then again, we get to go places and it gives very good value for our money. Besides, if you just can’t stand low-cost airlines, then conventional full-service airlines are still always there for you.