This common country assessment update for the Philippines underpins the sustainable development partnership framework for the Philippines and the United Nations (UN). Taking off from the analysis of the national baseline on sustainable development goals (SDGs) and progress in the SDGs, this...

Socialized pricing mechanisms are common in utility services like electricity because it is critical for daily activities and therefore, considered vital for economic growth. The aim of such mechanisms is to redistribute financial resources from well-off to marginalized consumers. This is seen...

The Philippine government has historically underinvested in transport infrastructure until a few decades ago when the country was in a relatively more favorable financial position. The immense need to fast-track transport infrastructure investments is driven mainly by two pressure points: 1) the...

Accelerating digitalization is one of the cross-cutting strategies identified in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. To ensure that the benefits of digitalization benefit everyone, widespread adoption of the internet is essential. This study provides an overview of the concepts and...

The domestic shipping industry has a crucial role in the Philippine economy as it serves as the backbone supporting domestic trade and provides an affordable means of interisland transfer. However, the industry is riddled with inefficiencies with interrelated consequences such as high cost of...

The air transport sector is important in facilitating economic growth and development. In a country made up of more than 7,000 islands, air transportation serves as the fastest mode of connectivity within the country and the rest of the world. The direct impact of the air transport sector to...

Electricity serves as a crucial input to many businesses and household activities. As such, the government has historically focused its efforts in expanding the populations' access to electricity. By contrast, electricity reliability has received less attention from policymakers, despite the...

High market concentration in the Philippine domestic shipping industry has always been a subject of concern among policymakers and researchers. While many reforms aimed at improving the level of competition in the industry have been implemented since the 1990s, studies show that domestic...

Electricity serves as a vital input to modern economies. Many critical infrastructures such transportation, telecommunications, banking, among others, depend on continuous supply of electricity to perform their functions. However, as modern economies continue to move towards digitalization and...

We assessed the impact of compulsory kindergarten education on early-teenage basic and functional literacy skills achievement using a large-scale natural experiment in the Philippines. In 2012, the Philippine government mandated compulsory kindergarten attendance for children aged five years or...