This paper discusses the causes and consequences of the current trend in which a principal driver of growth is inward remittances by workers deployed overseas. The main benefit of the phenomenon is an easing of the fiscal burden arising from the effectively large transfer from workers to the...

The revision of Economics, a textbook in elementary economics, using the Philippines as the basis of the study material, will be available in academic year 2003-4. The paper begins with a review of the antecedents of the efforts at the University of the Philippines School of Economics to improve...

Few studies have analyzed the Philippine economic experience during the Japanese occupation. Although such studies are in the nature of history and commentaries, they have not focused on the economic analysis of the war experience. The present study hopes to close this gap if only partially by...

The electric power industry reform act in the Philippines has for its main objective the introduction of competition and effective regulation to reduce costs of electric power at retail. Background of high electricity costs is linked to the politics of energy and the structural problems that...

A high degree of unemployment and underemployment characterizes the Philippine economic development record. In large part, the mainstream labor policies that emphasized high labor welfare standards and high minimum manages over the creation of employment are responsible for this outcome. In...

The Philippine fiscal picture shows an economy that has not yet achieved sustainable long-term fiscal balance. It had taken major steps in this direction from 1990 to 1996. However, since the Asian Crisis, the picture has deteriorated. The tax ratio has declined, the fiscal balance has turned to...

The paper discusses the suitability of the federal form of government as a replacement for the centralized structure of government in the context of Philippine economic and political conditions. The answer is depicted in the title of the essay. In providing a review of the main question,...

The Asian financial crisis has impaired the flow of capital financing the construction of infrastructure crucial for sustaining development in the country. As such, one of the post-crisis challenges has been the development of new and alternative financing mechanisms in light of emerging fiscal...

This essay is concerned with the broader canvas of economic reforms in the Philippines viewed from the framework of political economy. The first part provides a brief discussion of the rationale for economic reforms. The second part presents a tableau of economic policies in perspective over a...

Blas Ople was the key personality in the development of labor policies during the 1960s to the 1980s. Before his political ascendancy in other branches of government after the 1980s, he held the labor portfolio for the longest time. His influence extended to the present period. This essay covers...