Why have housing reforms failed to achieve the desired improvements in housing in the Philippines? A review of trends in government housing strategies shows that while many problems in housing are linked to institutional barriers in the land and financial markets, government reforms focused on...

This paper comprehensively reviews the developments in the education and labor markets in the Philippines in the past 25 years. It highlights the trends on how the labor market used educated workers. It also reviews how education has contributed to national development. Furthermore, it...

In the last twenty years, the Philippines has gained a good progress in poverty reduction. However, compared to other countries in the region, the Philippines is still behind. In the early years of the 21st century, more than a third of the Philippine population lives below the poverty line....

In the relatively new body of ideas dubbed "new economic geography" and "spatial economics," we find insights on the potentials of industrial agglomeration for regional and national economic development. This paper looked into the evolution of industrial development in the country as a means of...

The economic reform process in the Philippines was accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s. The reforms were found to have yielded positive results in terms of the nature of industrial agglomeration in the country as this was found to have occurred in the 1990s based on the results of the survey and...

In recognition of their substantial contribution to the economy both in terms of number of enterprises and workers, the Philippine government has put in place a number of policies and programs designed specifically to boost SME productivity and competitiveness in the country. However, the...

The second goal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to achieve universal primary education. The target is to reach all the MDGs by 2015. Trends in education indicators for monitoring the second MDG suggest that Philippines may probably not meet the target on achieving universal primary...

In line with the commitment of the Philippine government to adopt the Millennium Declaration, there have been efforts geared toward the achievement of the millennium development goals (MDGs) particularly the specific targets set for each of the eight MDGs. The MDGs include eradication of extreme...

The industry's lack of competitiveness, absence of economies of scale and a weak supply base are the fundamental issues that must be addressed in order to strengthen the industry and integrate it with regional production networks of foreign automakers. The entry of cheap, smuggled second-hand...

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...