This paper is an integration of the studies commissioned under the DFA-PIDS memorandum of agreement to explore the priority areas during the Philippines' APEC hosting in 2015 under the theme: "Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World". The four priority areas in the APEC 2015 agenda...

Regional economic integration in East Asia is characterized initially as a market-driven process of increased trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, and eventually by formal arrangements to liberalize trade and integrate economic activities through free trade agreements (FTAs) among...

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) gathers 10 ASEAN countries and five partners, namely, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. RCEP covers a market of 2.2 billion consumers and accounts for more than 30 percent of the global GDP. The...

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a forward-looking trade agreement between member economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its free trade agreement (FTA) partners (AFPs) namely Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand (i.e., non-ASEAN...

This ex-ante study analyzes the impacts of e-commerce adoption on the performance of women-led MSMEs in Metro Manila, their awareness and perceptions of government efforts towards internationalization, and their readiness to engage in cross-border e-commerce through the Regional Comprehensive...

This paper shows that advanced analytics and traditional statistical techniques on available unstructured and structured data can be utilized to understand the themes put forward in APEC's yearly meetings and how member economies have supported these topics through the conduct of APEC projects....

This paper has two objectives: (1) assess the health sector performance of the Philippines relative to other ASEAN member states and (2) assess regional health integration and cooperation in the Philippines and identify challenges and opportunities. The Philippines is lagging in critical health...

This study assessed the Philippines' readiness for regional digital trade integration with the Asia-Pacific by using the Regional Digital Trade Integration Index (RDTII) framework to provide an analytical overview of the Philippines' digital trade policy and regulatory environment. Using the...

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...

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...