Mandated by the Philippine Constitution, agrarian reform is an intervention to promote social justice aimed by equalizing access to land. This paper is aimed at addressing the issue of whether or not agrarian reform has accomplished its objectives. It is also aimed at assessing its impact on the...

Using the principle of subsidiary and the general rule of optimal intervention, this paper reviews the current discussion in the WTO on resolving the issues of environment-related trade and trade-related environmental measures with the rules of the multilateral trading system. Economic growth,...

Competition policy is integral to the process of liberalization of international trade regime and deregulation in domestic markets. This paper shows that even if trade barriers are removed, there are other factors that can impede the pro-competitive effects of trade liberalization. These include...

The use of English language for cross-border communications is important in many areas of trade ranging from tourism to the trade in financial services. This is in order to build a stronger regional economy through freely and openly communicating with one another. However, the increasing...

The concern for determining the basic or minimum water requirement for a person to maintain good health and proper sanitation comes about in the light of the current state of water resources and the growing scarcity against a rapidly rising population. This paper’s contribution is the...

Newly installed President Estrada is confronted by the same unenviable situation as his two predecessors. Former President Aquino has presided over an economy battered by the external debt crisis while President Ramos battled the aftermath of the Gulf war. The new administration, on the other...

This paper reviews the status of R&D in the Philippine fisheries sector and identifies the problems it is facing. It finds that fisheries R&D is generally ineffective as it is beset by many institutional, capability and management problems. The paper suggests certain concrete actions which need...

One of the important weapons the government has used to alleviate poverty is its credit policy aimed to mitigate destitution among small farm households. However, its intended recipients have not properly received the effort. Convinced that credit availability can be sustained to achieve poverty...

The change in the country’s investment policies has been a crucial factor in building up confidence in the country’s economic prospects. Despite the reforms undertaken, the country’s performance in attracting foreign direct investment is still lower than its neighboring countries. This...

The Philippines is an archipelago of approximately 7,107 islands. It has a long coastline extending to 235,973 square kilometers which is longer than that of the United States (UNESCAP 2002b). The country’s archipelagic configuration requires an efficient maritime transport infrastructure...