This paper argues that in the aftermath of the global economic crisis, the centralized international monetary architecture or the global financial safety net (GFSN) set up at the Bretton Woods conference is evolving towards a more decentralized multilayered safety net comprising (i) the G20 at...

This paper argues that the way for the Philippines to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is not through ASEAN but through the world. Being good neighbors will define the AEC and how the Philippines fits into it-not necessarily in the way it was planned. Of the 4 pillars underlying the AEC, the...

The paper examines recent technology enablers as these affect the services sector and are seen to be analogous to developments taking place as Industry 4.0. After briefly summarizing these, we argue that there are important implications to services, particularly their international trade, in...

This paper argues that, in any review of export promotion policy of the Philippines, it is more fruitful if a comparative context (relative to countries in its similar stage) is used. We broadly trace export promotions policies of 3 illustrative tiger economies (South Korea, Singapore, and...

This paper provides a review of the empirical evidence cited in the current public discussions on removing the remaining constitutional restrictions on foreign-equity ownership in certain economic sectors. A fuller appreciation of the given evidence shows that lifting equity restrictions is not...

We are pleased to note that the discussion paper we wrote ("How to change a constitution by handwaving") has attracted some interest from the public and observers of economic policy. Among the more thoughtful responses the paper has received is that from the Foundation for Economic Freedom...

Nepal's lackluster economic performance during the post-conflict period (that is, after November 2006) has been driven by remittances from the export of labor services and the improved performance of the agricultural sector, which is still very much weather dependent. The authors make the case...

The strong recovery of the five crisis-affected countries of East Asia between 1999 and 2000 has revived the debate on the causes of the 1997 financial crisis. Initially there had been an emerging consensus that the crisis had originated from the capital account. However, some analysts see the...