Philippine industrial policies such as those bearing on the manufacturing sector are a critical element of the country’s development strategy. Manufacturing creates opportunities for higher value-addition and extensive employment owing to forward and backward linkages with other sectors of the...

The agriculture and fisheries sector has been expanding over time, albeit within the overall context of structural change in the Philippine economy. However, based on progress made in other similarly situated economies, growth and productivity trends have not been "on track." While considerable...

The paper aims to examine the characteristics and factors that constrain the growth of SMEs that are operating within and outside production networks. Based on a survey of 101 firms, the analysis shows that SMEs are not homogeneous. While they share certain characteristics such as age, Filipino...

The Philippines, as a signatory of various international declarations, is one with other countries in instituting programs and policies to protect women and children. Despite this, the effectiveness of these measures cannot be established as patriarchy remains evident in Philippine culture. To...

How are the ASEAN+1 free trade agreements facilitating the flow of goods in the supply chain in East Asia? This chapter looks at the experience of the Philippine automotive and electronic sectors"-two sectors that are well integrated into the supply network in East Asia. Using firm interviews,...

This paper discusses the nature of the rules of origin (ROOs) in the ASEAN+1 FTAs, particularly with respect to features and characteristics that could either facilitate or hinder the development of value chains, and the participation of firms in the increased globalization of production. By...

Despite the measures that have already been put in place to strengthen the international financial architecture in the wake of the Asian financial crisis, still much remain to be done. This paper tried to distinguish developing economies' views, in general, and East Asian views, in particular,...

With globalization and advances in information and communication technology (ICT) leading to growing international production sharing, amidst the increasing trend in preferential trading arrangements (PTAs), rules of origin (ROO) has been beset with difficult recurring issues. First and foremost...