Despite the frenzy of construction, numerous infrastructure projects and the amount of public spending poured into Cebu City during the American colonial period upon instigation of Sergio Osmeña, Cebu City's economy actually slowed down as compared to that of the 19th Century. This was due to disruptions in world trade as a consequence of wars and the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Philippine economy remained basically agricultural, Cebu included for “although the Americans supported public works, they inhibited economic development through tax schemes designed to protect US commerce.” (Larkin, 1982)
Cebu City never moved beyond exporting raw materials and importing finished products during the American colonial period. It only supplied the United States with the agricultural goods it needed and failed to diversify and industrialize. That will remain so in the years to come. “When the frontier century came to a close, the Philippines had erected its modern social and economic structures, and from that time on has had to live with consequences.” (Larkin, 1982)
