IN making a decision of great economic significance, economists resort to a 'cost-benefit' analysis of various policy options as a way of ensuring that the public interest or welfare is better served. If the costs of a decision are higher than the benefits, that particular policy option should be rejected. Conversely, if the benefits significantly outweigh the costs, the policy must be adopted and implemented.

I do not know whether political scientists do the same kind of calculation in policy making. But it will be interesting to see, as an intellectual exercise, whether the sudden arrest and extradition of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the Hague in the Netherlands, to be tried for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC), benefit or not the Philippine political economy.