The 2008 global economic and financial crisis spawned a synchronized recession among industrialized countries leading to a contraction in world trade. Exports from developing countries fell sharply dragging many of them into the global economic downturn. The Philippines was not spared the...

This study reviews and evaluates the major contributory and noncontributory social protection programs that are currently in place as part of the government’s portfolio of social protection interventions, including social insurance (SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth), social welfare programs (e.g.,...

This report argues that improving local service delivery (LSD) is about improving people’s lives. It is premised on the idea that better provision of public goods and services is a prerequisite to realizing human capabilities, thus expanding human freedoms and enhancing human lives for a...

Philippine cities provide the highest levels of service and living standards in the country. Much of what happens to the country in terms of production and employment, income and consumption, and access to basic services and amenities will continue to be determined by the performance of its...

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) recognize the need to understand the link between disability and poverty. In fact this has become one of the key issues in the subject of poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific...

In the Philippines, importation has remained as one of the most feasible options for the government to meet the growing demand for rice. It is thus imperative for the government to develop a strategy that would ensure adequate supply and minimum importation costs. One of the critical factors in...

The paper characterizes how international labor migration became an enduring feature in the country’s development. It presents data on the flow of temporary and permanent international migrant workers in the last thirty years. Characteristics such as destination, occupation, education, sex,...

In response to high demands for lower level poverty estimates, the National Statistical Coordination Board releases provincial estimates, in addition to the national and regional, starting with the 1997 FIES. However, estimates of the coefficients of variation (CV) of several provincial...

The quality of poverty estimates relies heavily on the data sources. One of the sources of data for poverty estimation in the Philippines is the retail price collected by the National Statistics Office. The retail prices are used, along with or in the absence of price data of certain commodities...