Social equity in the Philippines : a continuing but elusive promise

In this chapter, Brillantes, Raquiza, and Lorenzo focus on the imperatives of social equity as a fundamental—but normative—principle for contemporary Philippine public administration. The pursuit of social equity may be seen as a response to the problems of pervasive poverty and inequality in spite of, paradoxically, rapid economic growth. The chapter cites two government programs that ostensibly aim to bring about social equity, the Conditional Cash Transfer program and the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law. Evidence has shown that both programs have yet to make a significant impact to redistribute wealth in a lasting way within the context of social equity. Hence, the chapter argues that social equity in the Philippines is a continuing process but remains an elusive goal

EU trade in financial services with ASEAN, policy coherence for development and financial crisis

In the wake of the financial crisis, negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) with Southeast Asia has become a priority for the European Union (EU). Paradoxically, all the indications are that the EU will demand that Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand liberalize financial services trade with the EU. This article asks whether the EU\u27s policy undermines coherence between EU trade and development policies. It argues that the EU and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agree that financial services are crucial for development, but that they differ on the approach to liberalization: the EU advocates broad-ranging liberalization, whereas ASEAN countries favour a cautious approach, conditioned by their experience of the Asian financial crisis. In view of this divergence, the EU will have to rethink its approach to financial services trade liberalization in negotiations with ASEAN countries. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd