The Impact of Market Reforms on Competition, Structure and Performance of the Philippine Economy

The paper studies the impact of trade liberalization on competition and productivity. Competition is the main channel through which trade liberalization affects economic performance. Competition fosters innovation and technology adoption which leads to increases in competitiveness and growth that will have large consequences for poverty and inequality. To realize these expected effects, it is important that firms change their behavior and adjust to the new market environment. The success of reforms depends to a great extent on the capacity of firms to exploit the new competitive conditions in the market and on their ability to take advantage of the opportunities offered to them.