Social Health Insurance for the Poor Programs of the Philippines and Vietnam

This paper compares the design features and implementation of the social health insurance (SHI) for the poor programs of the Philippines and Vietnam. The National Health Insurance Program-Sponsored Program of the Philippines and the Health Care Fund for the Poor Program of Vietnam both intend to improve the health status and, ultimately, the economic condition of the poor population. Following the framework of Carrin and James (2004), these programs are evaluated in terms of revenue collection, risk pooling, and purchasing for the period 1996-2005. As the experiences of these countries show, the traditional approaches to provider payments and quality control have only weak incentive effects on performance under a decentralized health setting. It is argued that more attention should be given to such institutional context in the design of SHI programs.health insurance, National Health Insurance Program, social health insurance

I. Methods for breeding high-protein cultivars of soybeans; II. Transfer of Phytophthora resistance in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] by backcrossing

The need to find an effective breeding method to develop soybean cultivars with high yield and high protein percentage from crosses of adapted cultivars is important. The objective of this study was to determine which kind of method (single cross vs backcross) would offer the best opportunity to increase yield of Vinton 81 while maintaining its current level of protein percentage. Three crosses were made using a moderately high protein cultivar (Vinton 81) with three high-yielding cultivars of different maturity group. The F(,4)-derived and BC(,1)F(,3)-derived lines were evaluated and compared with Vinton 81 for seed yield, maturity, lodging, height, seed weight, and protein and oil percentage;Significant differences were observed among lines derived from the F(,4) and BC(,1)F(,3) generations for the seven strains. In both generations, most of the lines were not significantly different from Vinton 81 for yield and protein percentage. Overall, only two lines were found that had greater yield and equal protein percentage to Vinton 81. Because the two superior lines identified came from the F(,4) generation, the single-cross method was favored over the backcross method in the development of productive soybean cultivars with high protein percentage;The efficiency of backcrossing in the transfer of Phytophthora resistance into susceptible cultivars was evaluated. A78-123018 and Cumberland were crossed to a resistant cultivar, Williams 82 and four backcrosses were made. The objectives of this study were to determine the number of backcross generations required to obtain Phytophthora resistant lines with the yield potential of the recurrent parent, and to determine in what backcross generation a composite of phenotypically similar lines could be made that would yield as much as the recurrent parent. Lines comprising the different generations were evaluated for yield and maturity in 1984;Significant variation among generations were observed for yield and maturity. Mean yields of the BC(,0) and BC(,1) generations were significantly lower than the mean yields of the BC(,2) and succeeding generations. Almost 100% of the lines from the BC(,2) and succeeding generations had yields equal to the recurrent parent. Comparable mean yield and maturity to the recurrent parent can be obtained from a composite of visually similar lines in the second backcross generation when a cultivar with acceptable yield is used as the donor parent

The quality of local governance and development under decentralization in the Philippines

This paper attempts to trace and find evidence for the linkages between the quality of governance, and development at the local level since the adoption of the fiscal decentralization policy in the Philippines in 1991. The concern since then over the links has been prompted by the observed persistent imbalances in local development - across and within regions - which many believe is due to the less than prudent exercise of the devolved powers and responsibilities - hence, low quality of local governance. To be sure, the decentralization has led to not a few innovations in local service delivery and financing, and in increased people's participation in local civic activities. However, the spread of innovation has been slow and there has been less than genuine participation in the mandated local special bodies. The uneven quality of local governance thus may have contributed to imbalanced regional growth. Evidence also indicate that the initial level of economic conditions determine the acceptable quality of local governance, which explains why certain poor areas remain in the vicious circle of penury and misgovernance. To help improve the quality of local governance, some policy inputs are suggested

Leadership and innovation under decentralization: A case study of selected local governments in the Philippines

This study investigates the importance of leadership as a driver of local government innovations. Based on a survey of 209 innovations introduced in selected 48 local governments in the Philippines during the period June 2004-June 2008, the observable qualities and possible incentives of incumbent mayors are linked empirically with their reported number of innovations. The Poisson regression results show that the statistically relevant incumbent's characteristics are age, educational attainment, and experience in the public sector, re-election status and terms in office, controlling for other factors. Also, the fiscal capacity of the local government and the poverty status of the local population are found statistically significant. However, all these factors vary in relative importance across types of innovations. Several policy inputs are suggested to hone the leadership qualities of incumbent mayors for greater adoption of innovations

Spatial development and the law of one price: Evidence of convergence of land values

Many developing countries exhibit imbalanced spatial development, but corrective policies are hampered by lack of adequate sub-regional development data. Building on the insights of the factor price equalization theorem and by applying measures of spatial autocorrelation on land values, patterns of local development and linkages in the Philippines are traced. Evidence of convergene in provincial and urban land values is found in 1986-2000, although the clustering is more local than global. Thus, greater infrastructure investments and use of land values by local governments as policy guides should be made to facilitate in-counrty trade and migration, and to disperse growth

Public-Private Service Delivery Arrangements and Incentive Schemes in Developing Asia

In many countries, public agencies or private firms are gradually moving away from being exclusive providers of goods and services that traditionally were assigned to the state or markets, respectively. Instead, state agencies, both at the national and the local level, and private organizations, both for-profit firms and nongovernment organizations (NGOs), increasingly coordinate, collaborate, or partner to finance, produce, or provide public services. This paper attempts to identify the factors that account for the successes or failures of such public–private service delivery arrangements, with a focus on the role of monetary andnonmonetary incentives used in selected case studies in developing Asia. It finds that such arrangements are a viable service delivery mechanism where there is a state or market failure. While governments now increasingly enter into such partnerships, they appear to do so more with for-profit firms than with NGOs. A key lesson is to mobilize potential private sector partners, match the partner's mission with the appropriate type or level of service provision, and then motivate them with the right incentives but also monitor them for performance accordingly

Introduction

This special issue of the Philippine Journal of Development (PJD) is dedicated to Professor Alejandro N. Herrin in recognition of his numerous contributions to research and policy in population, social services, and development in the Philippines and other countries, and his mentoring of a generation of scholars and policy practitioners in these areas. While the topics of the papers were independently chosen by the contributors, they reflect the wide range of issues of interest to Dr. Herrin.social services, population, development

Introduction

This special issue of the Philippine Journal of Development (PJD) is dedicated to Professor Alejandro N. Herrin in recognition of his numerous contributions to research and policy in population, social services, and development in the Philippines and other countries, and his mentoring of a generation of scholars and policy practitioners in these areas. While the topics of the papers were independently chosen by the contributors, they reflect the wide range of issues of interest to Dr. Herrin.social services, population, development

Fiscal transfers and gerrymandering under decentralization in the Philippines

While gerrymandering in developing countries is often pushed by local authorities to secure political advantages, fiscal grants systems under decentralization may also have result in the same. We investigate this issue to identify the correlates of the growth in the number of cities in the Philippines in 2001-2010. Using a panel of municipal-level data, incremental fiscal transfers are found to drive cityhood. Also, political payoffs - like the incumbent mayor's re-election or having another member of the same political clan elected to the same position - motivate the creation of new cities. Reforms in the country's fiscal transfer program are suggested

Quizziz: A Game-based Formative Assessment Tool for Enhancing Students Self-Regulated Learning

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether Quizizz as a formative assessment tool enhances self-regulated learning among grade eight (8) Science learners of Sta. Catalina National High School, Candelaria, Quezon Province, Philippines. The study utilizes a mixed-methods research design to investigate whether Quizizz has the intended effect on the study samples. The study employs purposive sampling to identify the participants of the study. The experimental group (n=24) used Quizizz as an intervention before taking the formative test, while the control group (n=24) was not. The results reveal that the learners from the experimental group perform better than those from the control group. The findings suggest that using Quizizz improves learners' test scores resulting from self-regulated learning. The researcher identifies the grade 8 participants based on their capabilities to access the Quizizz platform