Fear of crime, on top of being victimized by crime itself, is an important social concern because the literature suggests that it can affect behavior and decision-making. Some studies argue that negative emotions can induce present consumption; thus one behavior that crime can potentially...

The paper studied the factors affecting SME competitiveness in terms of their capacity to access, link, and upgrade as well as entrepreneurial characteristics and the business environment.Using a survey of 480 randomly selected SMEs in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon,...

The micro, small, and medium enterprises sector is an important segment in many economies, but it is often beset by productivity problems that hinder its ability to grow and develop. A recent strand of literature identifies a possible contributor to overcoming challenges to SME growth –...

Existing literature has studied the effects of business environment on business creation, private sector growth, and economic development. Using data from Philippine cities and municipalities from 2011 to 2015, this paper tested for the relationship between business creation and the ease and...

Decentralization is a popular component of public sector reform in many developing countries. Local governments are thought to be able to adapt more quickly to local conditions and to respond more appropriately to the needs of their citizens. However, decentralization also has drawbacks....

Decentralization had been a common public finance reform among developing countries in the past few decades. Some advocates pushed for decentralization reform as an answer to the growing problem of income inequality. The primary argument for decentralization was that sub-national governments had...

Competition has two possible contrasting effects on firm innovation. On one hand, competition can force SMEs to innovate to become more competitive. On the other hand, competition can shrink SME’s market share, revenues, and profit, making it difficult to implement financial-capital-intensive...