The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Philippines marks its fifth year of implementation in 2013 since its inception in 2008. The first batch of 4Ps beneficiaries will graduate from the program in several months while the government continues to expand its implementation, devising...

This study reviews and evaluates the major contributory and noncontributory social protection programs that are currently in place as part of the government`s portfolio of social protection interventions, including social insurance (SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth); social welfare programs (e.g., Pantawid...

Promotion of hybrid rice has been the central goal of the government's rice production program since 2001. Yet, farmers' adoption rate has remained low despite concerted efforts and massive subsidies. The highly subsidized approach of the program has been not just ineffective but costly in terms...

In a modern economy, the payment system is a major component of the country`s infrastructure system. Indeed, no country nowadays can afford to take its payment system for granted. Advances in information technology and changes in laws, institutions and regulations in some countries have...

A subset of the informal financial institutions that has been recently used as lending conduits of special credit programs is the credit union system. However, they often face some resource constraints which prevent them from satisfying the credit demands of their members on time. Access to...

This paper is part of the project “A Review of the Components of the Medium-Term National Action Agenda for Productivity (MNAAP)” by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies and the Development Academy of the Philippines. It summarizes the findings in the different components of...

This paper evaluates the impact of the country’s recent trade liberalization experience on the performance, structure and competitiveness of the Philippine Packaging industry. It examines the changes in the industry’s protection level and its consequence, if any, on the levels of allocative...

In the past one and a half decades, the Philippine government pursued major economic policy reforms. One of the key focused areas is the trade sector. Policy reforms included tariff reduction, simplification of tariff structure, and tariffication of quantitative restrictions. While some of the...

This study analyzes the effects of the trade policy reform on the structure, performance and competitiveness of the appliance industry. It also examines the links between changes in the industry structure with changes in the performance and competitiveness of the industry. In particular, it...

Even with lapses in its implementation during the 1980s, trade reform has been continuously brought to the fore of structural adjustment program. It has become increasingly crucial during the 1990s not only because of the backlash of import-substitution but also of the country’s heavy foreign...