This study analyzes labor market performance in the Philippines from the perspective of workers' welfare. It argues that pervasive in-work poverty is the main challenge facing labor policy. Poverty is primarily due to low earning capacity of the poor and to their limited access to regular and...

While the Philippines has achieved remarkable progress in raising the education level of its labor force, the standard proxy for educational attainment, years of formal schooling, is increasingly inadequate as a measure of workforce skills. About one-third of employer's report being unable to...

While the Philippines has achieved remarkable progress in raising the education level of its labor force, the standard proxy for educational attainment years of formal schooling is increasingly inadequate as a measure of workforce skills. About one-third of employers report being unable to fill...

This paper builds on the existing literature assessing retrospectively the quantitative effects of natural disasters on different dimensions of household welfare, to make progress toward the ex ante identification of households that are vulnerable to poverty due to natural disasters, especially...

The Philippines power sector underwent a substantial and largely complete reform process. Following a severe shortage of supply in the late 1980s and the Asian Financial crisis of 1997, which made the dollar-denominated debt of the National Power Corporation extremely burdensome, the Electric...

Deep reforms of the Philippine power sector began in 2001, aiming at competitive wholesale and retail markets. This case study analyzes the Philippine experience with wholesale electricity markets at the generation level, including design, implementation, and outcomes. The spot market began...

Traditional risk assessments use asset losses as the main metric to measure the severity of a disaster. This paper proposes an expanded risk assessment based on a framework that adds socioeconomic resilience and uses wellbeing losses as its main measure of disaster severity. Using a new,...

Post-election violence is a common form of conflict, but its underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Using data from the 2007 Philippine mayoral elections, this paper provides evidence that post-election violence is particularly intense after narrow victories by incumbents. Using a...

Government debt has risen substantially in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) since the global financial crisis. The current environment of low global interest rates and weak growth may appear to mitigate concerns about elevated debt levels. Considering currently subdued...

Rising youth unemployment rates have been increasingly recognized as a serious challenge in developing and advanced economies, as the trend indicates a potential skills gap between the demands of the workforce and recent graduates. Effective dual education programs utilizing a combination of...