The study looks at the rarely studied customs brokerage activity in the Philippines and its role in facilitating trade given the ongoing push to modernize customs administration. It analyzes how the customs brokerage profession is being regulated and synthesizes insights on opposing views on the...

Global experience in regional energy market integration presents broad elements of integration, i.e., binding agreements, physical infrastructure, standardized or harmonized rules of operation, and governing or coordinating institutions. The pathway to ASEAN Energy Market Integration (AEMI) will...

This study articulates the results of the research team's conversations with regulators and desk review of policies in the sectors affecting logistics and trade facilitation in the Philippines. The study covers air transport, land transport, maritime transport, logistics services, and customs...

The Sitio Electrification Program (SEP) and the Household Electrification Program (HEP) are two ongoing rural electrification programs of the government. To assist the Department of Budget and Management in implementing its zero-based budgeting approach, we assessed the 2011 SEP and HEP...

This study assesses the sources and levels of infrastructure financing in the Philippines for the last five years (2008-2012). The mapping of fiscal resources showed that there had been underinvestment in infrastructure. To illustrate, in 2008-2012, public infrastructure spending as a share of...

Managing urban growth in countries requires that leaders plan ahead using national physical plans that, among others, safeguard land for utilities and physical infrastructure decades ahead, deliberately configures transport networks (including strategic seaports, controlled expressways and, if...

Well-developed infrastructure systems and services are vital means of enhancing the connectivity of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member-economies. In essence, efforts by APEC to enhance connectivity through infrastructure should be considered regional public goods since these create...

The Philippines' recent economic performance has been remarkable amid the lingering slowdown in the global economy and the devastation brought about by recent natural disasters. The economy grew by 7.2 percent in 2013, substantially higher than its 6.8 percent growth in 2012. With GDP growth...

The recent calls for the revival of the Oil Price Stabilization Fund (OPSF) are tantamount to a call for a policy reversal, that is, reversal of the downstream oil industry deregulation that began in 1998. The history of the OPSF presents important lessons for policymakers. Petroleum price...

This study assesses the adequacy of school infrastructure in the Philippine basic education sector and conducts benchmarking against developmental targets and other countries' performance. The study shows that with respect to classrooms, there had been progress in decongesting schools, but...