The Philippines has been more cautious in its policy toward free trade agreements (FTAs) than other ASEAN member-states, having signed, so far, only one bilateral agreement with Japan in addition to the various ASEAN+1 agreements. While the government is expected to progressively reduce...

Unfair trade practices (UTPs) demonstrate anticompetitive behavior which can be characterized into two general types: exclusionary abuse--an act of the firm (or a group of firms) to prevent entry of potential firms; or exploitative abuse--referring to actual abuse of market power. However, this...

ASEAN member countries are moving toward achieving the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) with the timeline set at 2015. It is therefore important for policymakers in the region to sustain the momentum--or perhaps even accelerate the pace--toward establishing the AEC. Policy measures are being...

Within the context of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Scorecard mechanism developed by the ASEAN Secretariat to monitor the implementation of the AEC Blueprint, the study focuses on the current state, performance and impact of investment liberalization and facilitation, trade facilitation,...

The private sector is the driver of growth in most ASEAN economies. It is therefore expected to play a significant role in the process of economic integration in ASEAN. In the Philippines, the private sector has dominated the economy, contributing about 95 percent of GDP, but it has not lived up...

Monitoring the behavior of potential output helps policymakers implement appropriate policies in response to an economic crisis. In the short-run, estimates of the output gap will guide the timing of implementation and withdrawal of stimulus measures. In the medium- to long-term, these estimates...

Research and development (R&D) is an important resource for sustained economic growth. New knowledge created by a firm has spillover effects that improve the productivity of other firms and even other sectors. This is the heart of endogenous growth theory. In this framework, government policies...

The Philippines continues to demonstrate a development puzzle. Despite abundant natural and human resources, its development record pales in comparison with its neighbors in East Asia. This study presents a SWOT analysis to explain the economic development of the Philippines. To overcome the...