International relations is considered an important aspect in the development of an economy and of a region by providing them opportunities to work together to address economic, social, political issues, environmental, and security issues. It allows economies to share information, technology, and...

Initiatives toward the attainment of global food security have been done not just unilaterally but also regionally and globally. Among the platforms which have made great efforts in this aspect is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). In 2015, the Philippines will host the next APEC...

This paper develops a modality of liberalization for APEC, based on a sectoral level, as an alternative to the politically-sensitive Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). This model, originally developed by Wonnacott (1994), argues for the liberalization of sectors on an MFN basis, where...

This paper looks at the emerging issues and problems in promoting competition policy and coordinating its implementation under regional arrangements, particularly the APEC and the ASEAN. Implementing competition policy is a big challenge. As the review of country experiences shows,...

This paper argues that mainstreaming SMEs and SE into various international treaties will require the assumption of positive externalities which markets cannot fully evaluate. To show this, the possible influence that SEs may have on SME development and eventually on employment will be...

Since 2006, the World Bank has been ranking almost 200 countries in terms of their ease of doing business (EoDB) to underscore the importance of a thriving private sector in promoting high and inclusive growth. Comparing these metrics for business friendliness among economic partners is more...

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...

Labor mobility or professional service mobility, in particular, has become increasingly important. Its prevalence (in terms of volume of jobs) in trade in services and its economic contribution to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and other regional trading blocs is increasing....