Mahar Mangahas

Mahar Mangahas is a Filipino economist and social scientist who serves as the president of Social Weather Stations (SWS), a prominent opinion polling organization in the Philippines. He is known for his contributions to economic and social indicators research, as well as his work in public opinion polling.

Education and academic career Mangahas completed his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Chicago, where he studied under Milton Friedman, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1974). He began his academic career at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where he served as a professor of economics at the University of the Philippines School of Economics.

Mangahas is a member of the Pan Xenia Fraternity.

Career Academic work Before focusing on his work at SWS, Mangahas held a teaching position at the School of Economics of the University of the Philippines. His academic research has focused on economic development, social indicators, and public policy analysis in the Philippines.

Social Weather Stations As president of Social Weather Stations, Mangahas has played a crucial role in developing and conducting public opinion research in the Philippines. SWS has become one of the country's leading survey research institutions under his leadership.

Writing and publications Mangahas is a regular columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, where he writes about economic and social issues. His major published works include:

Measuring the quality of life: Philippine social indicators (1977) Labor absorption in Philippine agriculture The political economy of land reform and land distribution in the Philippines

DAP Social Indicators Project and BBC In 1976, Mangahas was chosen to be the director of the DAP Social Indicators Project, while still serving as UPSE professor. The project measured poverty, health, education, the environment, political freedom, and political mobility. His success using subjective measures led him to work as a UNICEF advisor on social indicators in Malaysia (1977-78) and Indonesia (1981). In 1981, DAP offered Mangahas the position of vice-president of research. Later that year, printings of his book, Measuring the Quality of Life: A 1982 Social Weather Report, were halted. Mangahas was also part of the Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development (BBC), where he worked in their research committee. In 1984, the BBC sent out a controversial national survey that found that opposition to Marcos’s administration was two-thirds. It was Mangahas’s job to direct and publicly present the findings. The next day, Mangahas resigned from DAP to avoid retaliation from his leaders.

Research contributions Mangahas's work has significantly contributed to the field of social indicators research and economic measurement in the Philippines. His research has focused on:

Development of social indicators Quality of life measurements Agricultural economics Land reform policy Public opinion research methodology

Personal life Mangahas is a member of the Pan Xenia Fraternity, which he joined in 1963.

Selected publications

Mangahas, Mahar (1977). Measuring the quality of life: Philippine social indicators. Development Academy of the Philippines.