Philippines: The Most Interesting Place for Love?

Amidst the hysteria of obnoxious domestic politics, Justin Wolfers of Freaknomics offers us some relief. In a study to gather insights of how love relates to the economy covering many countries, he identifies the Philippines as the most interesting place to search for love as seen in the chart below….

Mr. Wolfers, “It turns out that love is incredibly democratic, and is as common in poor countries as it is in rich countries. And, encouragingly, about 70 percent of us report feeling a lot of love on any given day. This isn’t as obvious as it may sound, as love’s enemy, anger, is significantly more prevalent in poor countries than in rich.

“The data suggest some interesting places to look for love: the Philippines, Rwanda, and Puerto Rico top the “love tables.” Meanwhile those in Armenia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan are feeling the least love. (Unfortunately, the love question wasn’t asked in the United States.)

Wow. The Philippines-the land of “Romeo and Juliet”?

Or could it be that that the Filipinos’ fixation for love is the obverse side to our obsession for domestic politics? If we cannot love then we can do politics.

(Hat tip to Freakonomics)