The paper looks at the role of services in the economy and discusses why competitive services are necessary for achieving inclusive growth. An overview of Philippine services sectors is first presented highlighting their economic contribution as well as performance. This is followed by a...

There is now broad consensus that the Philippines should aim to have a globally competitive services sector. Applying Porter's framework on creating national competitive advantage (the diamond), this paper presents a comprehensive government strategy recognizing that it has an important albeit...

APEC 2015 provides an opportunity for the Philippines to advance its economic interests in services and contribute to regional integration by focusing on global value chains (GVCs) which are now believed to account for more than 50 percent of global trade. This paper looks at the GVC phenomenon...

This paper examines the evidence on service innovation using the 2012 Census of Philippine Business and Industry and the 2009 Pilot Survey of Innovation Activities. It reveals the wide variation in R and D intensities and differences in innovation behavior between the manufacturing and services...

Services trade is expected to be the new driver of global trade growing further in the coming years with the adoption of new technologies and rising incomes, among others. To some extent, the Philippines has already gained a foothold having achieved significant success in the BPO sector....

The availability of adequate, reliable and affordable infrastructure is critical to increasing the productivity of Philippine industries and households. Thus, the Medium-Term National Action Agenda for Productivity (MTNAAP) 2000-2004 seeks to contribute towards a) Increasing the provision of...

This paper reviews the Philippines' participation in services trade agreements to date at the multilateral (WTO GATS), regional (ASEAN and dialogue partners), and bilateral levels (PJEPA and PH-EFTA FTA). It also discusses the government's institutional arrangements for trade in services...