What are the effects of government policies, such as export tax, production levy and marketing regulation, on the Philippine coconut industry? The answer to this question is made central to this research paper.

Following an earlier paper titled 'Population and Poverty: The Real Score' (UPSE Discussion Paper 0415, December 2004), the present paper was first issued in August 2008 as a contribution to the public debate on the population issue that never seemed to die in this country. The debate heated up...

Starting with the premise that technological innovation and economic growth are interactive and mutually reinforcing, this paper argues that in order to have a fighting chance in the Asean Economic Community (AEC), let alone global, competition, the Philippines (PH) needs to appreciably ramp up...

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) transforms the ASEAN region into a single market and production base by 2015. This promotes greater competition for the Philippine agriculture and fisheries (A and F) sectors. With the country's A and F sector lagging behind its neighboring ASEAN countries,...

This paper provides estimates of trade costs of the Philippines with her key trading partners, and develops a framework for assessing their welfare cost. With tariff restrictions reduced significantly following several rounds of multilateral and regional trade negotiations, non-tariff barriers...

The study assesses the impact of the first package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (or TRAIN), which includes an increase in petroleum and coal excise taxes, passed by Congress in 2017. The study also reviews the context of the energy sector in the country given that petroleum...

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 benefic

As the country has undergone a series of structural adjustment and stabilization policies, questions regarding its impact on the agriculture sector has stemmed out of the concerns on poverty and the welfare of vulnerable groups. To answer whether these policies improved the lot of these groups,...

Starting with the premise that technological innovation and economic growth are interactive and mutually reinforcing, this paper argues that in order to have a fighting chance in the Asean Economic Community (AEC), let alone global, competition, the Philippines (PH) needs to appreciably ramp up...

This paper looks into the relative merits of two approaches—participation in preferential trading agreements (PTAS) and multilateralism, as exemplified by membership in the World Trade Organization—both of which lead to the path of integration with the world economy. Four ASEAN transition...