The study assesses the state of competition in the Philippine wholesale and retail sector, focusing on the distribution of specialized goods and pharmaceutical products. It uses the traditional tools of analysis like concentration ratios and price-cost margins in determining the competitive...

This paper reviews the current empirical literature on competition and market structure of Philippine industries. It shows that weak competition is one of the fundamental factors that explain limited growth, productivity, and employment in the economy. Philippine experience has shown that...

Through Bruegel's role on the Monetary Experts Panel for the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Bruegel scholars contributed to the Committee's Monetary Dialogue with the European Central Bank meeting on 28 September. In this briefing paper for the Panel, Director...

In this policy contribution, Bruegel Senior Fellow Nicolas Veron and Stephane Rottier, National Bank of Belgium, score and grade the implementation and follow up of the 47 action items that were outlined in the G20 summit in 2008. This paper complements their policy brief titled 'Not all...

The G20 is not just a G7 with Extra Chairs is a joint paper written by Agnes Benassy-Quere, Rajiv Kumar and Jean Pisani-Ferry (Director of Bruegel) following the International Cooperation in Times of Global Crisis: Views from G20 Countries conference in Delhi on 14th and 15th of September,...

In this paper, Nicolas Veron argues that the EU regulatory response to the crisis has been generally slower in the EU than in the United States, for four main reasons: swifter financial crisis management and resolution in the US; structural differences in legislative processes; the EU's...

In this timely policy contribution, Visiting Scholar Ignazio Angeloni suggests that the Pittsburgh G20 may represent policymakers' last chance at real financial market reform. He develops a shortlist of recommendations for world leaders to tackle at the summit and says that world leaders at the...

This paper looks at the regulatory reforms in the electricity and downstream oil industries, two important inputs to the production process that were heavily regulated by the government. While electricity has strong externalities as well as economies of scale and scope, the oil industry does not...

This paper is a preliminary review of the state of competition in the insurance industry of selected Asian countries. In particular, it explores how competition has been affected by the market structure and the regulatory regime in the insurance industries of the ASEAN5 economies - Indonesia,...

The Philippines is an archipelago of approximately 7,107 islands. It has a long coastline extending to 235,973 square kilometers which is longer than that of the United States (UNESCAP 2002b). The country's archipelagic configuration requires an efficient maritime transport infrastructure...