Public sector subsidies (e.g. direct public financing of certain activities or sectors in the economy) are among the key interventions to accomplish public policy goals, including boosting social safety nets for vulnerable groups, empowering different sectors to become much more resilient to...

Poverty reduction programs are known as an effective instrument to produce electoral rewards. As such, they are generally politically appealing. But not all programs are the same from the perspective of a politician — some are more supportable than others. This article identifies the features...

The Philippines is home to about 4 million Filipino families who live below the poverty line, and to about 17 million families who live above it. Nearly half of all poor families do not meet their food needs. Despite the Philippines' fast economic growth in recent years — growing over six...

In public policy literature, white elephant projects are described as large-scale investment ventures which do not only crowd-out funds from smaller-scale investment opportunities, but also lead to negative social returns. This case study briefly sketches recent literature and information on...

With the existing trajectory path of the Philippines' advancement aspirations, there is challenge that lies in sustaining and dramatically elevating the growth in foreign direct investments (FDI), which are critical for the country's economic development. In light of the impending reforms that...

This paper develops a unique dataset of Supreme Court land dispute cases in the Philippines spanning 2002 to 2016. The sample includes 1,409 cases with complete information on the estimated land value (through zonal value estimation), land size, land location, litigation time, and win rate...

This research attempts to examine the legal mandate of Philippine local government officials, mayors and barangay captains, within the national government's anti-illegal drug campaign, notably the police-led Project Double Barrel and Oplan Tokhang. To determine their duties, the General Welfare...

No other food is more central to Filipinos' diets than rice, yet no food poses a greater burden on poor and near-poor Filipinos' budgets. According to the 2015 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, the poorest 20% of households' rice expenditures alone accounted for more than 19% of their total...

Since the beginning of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, significant changes have been made to the Philippines' foreign policy regime. Ties with the Peoples' Republic of China have strengthened, while traditional allies like the USA and European Union have been antagonized. On a...

Since the beginning of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, significant changes have been made to the Philippines' foreign policy regime. Ties with the Peoples' Republic of China have strengthened, while traditional allies like the USA and European Union have been antagonized. On a...