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...

The release of the final draft of the Consultative Committee (Con-Com) to Review the 1987 Constitution, officially designated as “Bayanihan Federalism”, has spurred vigorous debate, with much discussion focusing on the fiscal repercussions of moving towards a federal form of government. This...

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...

With the lifting of the quantitative restrictions on rice imports, the Philippines is expecting an inflow of rice to enter in the next few months. Although this is expected to lead to a decrease in rice prices, this could similarly put pressure on some farmers' incomes to the extent that they...

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was created under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (RA 11054 ) which was signed into law in March 2019. One key feature in this law is the creation of a BARMM block grant which is intended to help resource the new autonomous region which will...

Historically, large-scale capital-intensive industries have played a key role in many developing countries' industrialization. Some countries created state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with heavy government intervention and support to complete production chains to meet demand and export markets....

Imperial Manila is often blamed for controlling public spending in at least three ways: a) by being the beneficiary of a disproportionatley larger share of public spending; b) by “controlling” public spending allocations to the LGUs; and c) by passing on unfunded mandates to the LGUs. On the...

As a contribution to the nascent literature, this study examines patterns of vote buying among poor voters in 17 cities in Metro Manila, using a dataset closely following the 2016 national and local elections. Specifically, it will examine the possible factors linked to vote buying, hopefully...

To achieve a better future by 2040, most Filipinos express the need for simple and efficient government transactions, affordable government services, and the elimination of corruption. This paper expounds on that vision by explaining how effective public goods and services are hinged on a...

This paper elaborates on the economics of the taxi sector in the Philippines, and the impact of emerging competition such as Uber. It argues that a better understanding of the economics of the taxi industry could help inform regulators on whether and to what extent they should regulate Uber in...