The Philippines’ social protection system is anchored on the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Under the management of the Department of Social and Welfare Development (DSWD), the 4Ps covered over 3 million families and about 7.5 million children for a period of 64 months (February...

The Philippines is among the youngest countries in the world. It will be the youngest ASEAN economy by 2050, and if one considers only those countries with populations over 100 million, globally, the Philippines will be in the top 10. Due to their economic and political role, the youth will be...

The present paper analyzes the cyclicality of public spending on key social, economic and military sectors, including agriculture, education, health, social protection, transportation and military spending using data available for up to 40 developing countries spanning the period from 1980 to...

Trade facilitation is defined as the simplification and harmonization of international trade procedures, referring to activities, practices, and formalities involved in collecting, presenting, communicating, and processing data required for the movement of goods in international trade.4 The need...

This paper reviews the empirical evidence linking political dynasties to the imposition of term limits under the 1987 Constitution. It finds evidence that political clans have found a way around this Constitutional constraint, by fielding more family members in power -- giving rise to more fat...

Build, Build, Build (BBB) is the ambitious P8- to P9-trillion infrastructure development program of the current Duterte administration, pledged to usher in a “golden age of infrastructure.” This paper aims to independently assess critical governance dimensions of BBB, focusing on the...

Inflation in the Philippines has accelerated over the course of 2018, with year-on-year headline inflation rising from 2.9 percent in December 2017 to 6.7 percent as of September 2018. Amidst such trends, calls have been sounded for the advanced suspension of scheduled increases in oil levies...

There are two forms of contagion associated with COVID-19—one related to the virus, and the other to the economic slowdown it has triggered. This paper outlines a framework to better understand the different phases of COVID-19 crisis response, spanning relief, recovery and the possible “new...

In the Philippines, COVID-19 has disrupted and strained operations for both public and private healthcare. And unlike public hospitals that enjoy implicit and direct government support and guarantees, as well as forthcoming infusions to support the fight against COVID-19, it is not clear whether...

Despite studies finding a link between political dynasty prevalence and poverty, empirical evidence in the Philippines shows that the relationship between dynastic concentration and underdevelopment is not the same across regions. We argue that an independent economic elite and high levels of...