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 administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is pushing for the creation of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF). Originally proposed as a sovereign wealth fund, the MIF later on morphed into what can be called a sovereign investment fund (SIF): a state-owned investment fund that aims to...

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...

In light of recent pronouncements of tariff hikes in the United States (US) and the retaliatory responses of major economies such as China, Canada, and Mexico, this paper revisits the global value chains (GVC) experience of the Philippines amid the trade tensions between China and the US from...

We use a unique Philippine firm-level database consisting of trade transactions data merged with firm surveys of manufacturing establishments covering the period from 2013 to 2019 to examine which exporting and importing firms are potentially vulnerable to the economic slowdown brought about by...

Using time series data from 1945 to 2023, this paper develops stylized facts to trace the historical origins of the Philippines' narrow economic base. Econometric models are then estimated to analyze the drivers and benefits of economic diversification in the Philippines. The empirical results...

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...

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

Partnership between the public and private sectors, the main constituents of the economy, is not only logical but seems like a natural institutional arrangement. It can be a symbiotic relationship which brings about mutually beneficial processes and outcomes that redound to the economy and...

This paper examines the Philippines' investment climate in its many dimensions, relating these to the performance of the economy at the national, regional, and provincial levels. The central thesis is that the economy's slow growth over the past two decades or more can be attributed in large...