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 –...

Competitive markets provide the best conditions for producing low-priced, high-quality, and innovative goods and services, which benefit all of society. The poor especially benefit from competition through better standards of living and participation in more economic activities. With more...

The age structure of the population in most countries has been changing rapidly, and many countries are becoming knowledge-based economies where the generation and use of information as a critical input to value creation are becoming increasingly important. While a decline in the dependency...

The development of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) is shaped by the environments where they are located, and the institutions in those environments. Governments can have a positive role in shaping SME development. However, corruption exists especially in countries with weak government...

This paper analyzed the relationship between firm characteristics and credit constraints among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines. In particular, we determined whether an SME's firm characteristics are correlated to the predicted probability of being credit-constrained or...

The Philippines is now one of the best-performing economies in the world. The country's macroeconomic environment is characterized by strong growth, low and stable inflation, a steady fiscal position, healthy current account surpluses, strong foreign direct investment, and abundant international...

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...

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected major industries, resulting in the transformation of the business landscape, and small businesses have taken a particularly severe impact. Whenever crises occur, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) tend to be more vulnerable than large...

In this study, we investigate the determinants of the public-private sector wage gap among nurses in Pampanga, Philippines. Using two estimation methods followed by a Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of the wage differential, we study the extent to which this gap can be accounted for by differences...

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....