The paper aims to measure transaction costs and its effects on labor market participation and on wage earnings. The observed differences between between buying and selling prices of rice across households are used to calculate transaction costs indices for villages which are incorporated into...

This paper argues that mainstreaming SMEs and SE into various international treaties will require the assumption of positive externalities which markets cannot fully evaluate. To show this, the possible influence that SEs may have on SME development and eventually on employment will be...

The Philippines is at a crossroad. It can choose to continue to follow current unrealistic policies that despite good intentions have been shown to be actually detrimental to the poor. Or, it can elect to try another development path to get a better chance at reducing poverty. This study...

The Philippines is currently negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU). This paper is expected to shed light on these negotiations in terms of the possible effects of the FTA on the employment in particular. Conceptually, the effects of FTA on the labor market may...

It is commonly believed that mandating higher legal minimum wages (LMWs) is needed to help the poor earn a level of income that would allow them healthy and dignified lives. It is also seen as a tool to protect the weak against exploitation. This popular belief motivates and justifies the...

One aspiration of the Agricultural Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) is the promotion of industry dispersal and rural industrialization. This involves a policy of structural transformation, which attempts to transition the economy from a low productivity sector, such as agriculture, to a high...