Principles of economics applied to the Philippines by Hugo H. Miller is a significant educational artifact from the American colonial period in the Philippines. This text, a revised and expanded edition of an earlier work published in 1913, was primarily intended for Philippine high-school students. It served the dual purpose of teaching fundamental economic principles while grounding them in the practical realities of the Islands' economy. The book’s 1932 publication date is crucial, as the preface indicates it was written at the beginning of "a period of adjustment to world deflation." This situates the book as a primary source reflecting the economic anxieties and policy focus of the time, including issues vital to the local culture and national economy, such as rice cultivation, tenancy (tenant farmer systems), labor organization, and the foreign trade of key agricultural exports like sugar and copra. The text's existence illustrates the American colonial administration’s direct effort to shape the economic literacy of the future Filipino professional class and civil service.
Principles of economics applied to the Philippines