The paper calls the attention of policymakers to address critical constraints affecting the effective utilization of free trade agreements, growth, trade facilitation and customs administration, services liberalization, and investment incentives. [PIDS DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES NO. 2013-51].

The study looks at the rarely studied customs brokerage activity in the Philippines and its role in facilitating trade given the ongoing push to modernize customs administration. It analyzes how the customs brokerage profession is being regulated and synthesizes insights on opposing views on the...

The ASEAN+6 countries are currently engaged in negotiation for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). If successfully negotiated, RCEP will result into the world`s biggest trading bloc, 40 percent of world trade, that offers significant benefits to participating countries. The...

This study articulates the results of the research team`s conversations with regulators and desk review of policies in the sectors affecting logistics and trade facilitation in the Philippines. The study covers air transport, land transport, maritime transport, logistics services, and customs...

The Philippines` recent economic performance has been remarkable amid the lingering slowdown in the global economy and the devastation brought about by recent natural disasters. The economy grew by 7.2 percent in 2013, substantially higher than its 6.8 percent growth in 2012. With GDP growth...

As 2015 draws near, assessing ASEAN`s progress toward the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) defined by the AEC Blueprint is necessary and instructive. This paper constitutes the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the AEC Blueprint for the Philippines. The Philippines Country Report presents the results of...

The slow progress of the Cadastral Survey Program in the Philippines has been associated with implementation issues that have affected the effectiveness and efficiency of the program. A review of the processes, procedures, and existing institutional set-up in the conduct of cadastral surveys...

This study looks at the effectiveness of the strategy and the complementary interventions of the Sustainable Livelihood Program`s Self-Employment Assistance Kaunlaran (SLP SEA-K). The SLP SEA-K uses a microcredit strategy that intends to provide credit access to the poor, improve the ability of...

Unfair trade practices (UTPs) demonstrate anticompetitive behavior which can be characterized into two general types: exclusionary abuse--an act of the firm (or a group of firms) to prevent entry of potential firms; or exploitative abuse--referring to actual abuse of market power. However, this...

This paper is a narrative account and assessment of the grassroots participatory budgeting (GPB) process in three municipalities of the Negros Province, namely, Sagay City, Hinigaran, and Cauayan. The GPB process was implemented with the objective of empowering civil society organizations (CSOs)...