Debates on the revision of the value-added tax (VAT) are about to reach the penultimate stage. Once house and senate have passed their respective versions of the bill, congress – through a bicameral conference committee sometimes referred to as the “third chamber” – must then agree on...

Labor-importing countries adopt differing immigration policy on foreign workers. They all restrict the number allowed entry and many set wage ceilings at levels below the wage paid the native workers. The differing restrictive immigration policies result in the segmentation of the world labor...

The most important role that fiscal policy can play with regard to growth is to ensure macroeconomic stability. But despite two highly visible tax reform programs in less than two decades, the Philippines is now in the midst of a fiscal crisis. This has been brought about by pressures on the...

This study assesses the usefulness of money for policy in the Philippines. The basic idea behind the use of monetary aggregates for policy is that observed fluctuations in money anticipate movements in the ultimate objective of monetary policy, such as inflation control. The stability of key...

This paper examines the Philippine experience with trade liberalization policies and their impact on the economy. Although the relationship between trade liberalization and poverty is not straightforward, empirical evidence suggests that there are beneficial effects of freer trade on the poor in...

“What are the prospects of the Philippine economy after the presidential election of 2004?” Before speculating on this question, the paper discusses four major problems of the economy that the new president will face after the elections. These are (a) the weak long-term performance; (b) the...

Using the United States constitution as yardstick for its essential simplicity and completeness in describing the structure of government, the constitutions of twenty-two countries were studied for their language style, brevity and coverage of provisions. Most constitutions of later years have...

This study postulates some relationship between the attributes of constitutions – the style of constitutions regarding brevity, coverage, and presence of economic and social guarantees – with economic factors and the economic performance of countries. Utilizing quantifiable measures of these...

A high degree of unemployment and underemployment characterizes the Philippine economic development record. In large part, the mainstream labor policies that emphasized high labor welfare standards and high minimum manages over the creation of employment are responsible for this outcome. In...

This paper presents the educating effects on civic participation of a citizen feedback mechanism (GOFORDEV Index), which helps promote transparency and accountability in local governance. Using three rounds of household survey data collected during the two-year pilot of the Index in two...