Population: Does It Matter? Revisiting an Old Issue

For many years, the Philippines has neglected the issue of population growth, consequently finding itself now virtually alone among middle-income developing countries as not having made any significant demographic transition. Because of this, the Policy Notes implies that the country has remained in a low-level equilibrium trap which involves a chain of low economic growth, high unemployment, low productivity, persistent poverty, declining human capital and high fertility feeding back into low economic growth and so on and so forth. To break this vicious chain, a clear and consistent population policy, matched by an adequately funded action program, is said to be needed.population, population and poverty

Factors Affecting the Choice of Location: A Survey of Foreign and Local Firms in the Philippines

This paper addresses the locational behavior of foreign firms and of local enterprises, including the more important determinants of industrial location. The overall findings reveal that the factors considered decisive by the majority of firms are largely of the social overhead type.location decisions

Population, Poverty, Politics and the Reproductive Health Bill

Following an earlier paper titled “Population and Poverty: The Real Score” (UPSE Discussion Paper 0415, December 2004), the present paper was first issued in August 2008 as a contribution to the public debate on the population issue that never seemed to die in this country. The debate heated up about that time in reaction to a revival of moves to push for legislation on reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP). Those attempts at legislation, however, failed in the 13th Congress, and again in the 14th Congress. Since late last year, the debate has been heating up further on the heels of President Noy Aquino’s pronouncements seeming to favor RH/FP, though he prefers the nomenclature “responsible parenthood”. With some updating of the data, this paper remains as relevant as ever to the ongoing public debate. It is being re-issued as a Discussion Paper for wider circulation.population, reproductive health, poverty, Philippines

Why Slowing Population Growth in the Philippines is an Imperative

Sometime in the early 1970s, the Philippines and Thailand had about the same population size. Today, the Philippine population has grown so much bigger than that of Thailand. Why? Because Thailand pursued a population program with such vigor that it was able to bring down its annual population growth rate. In the mid-1960s, the Philippines had a higher per capita income than Thailand. Today, Thais have per capita incomes almost two-and-a-half times higher than Filipinos. Is there a connection somewhere?demographic economics, population and family relation

The Question of the Brain Drain in the Philippines

This paper attempts to examine the brain drain problem of the Philippines within a simple economic framework. What is the extent of the problem? Why is there such a problem? These are the main questions that will be addressed to. We shall argue that the real problem of the Philippines is not so much the brain drain as misdirected training and skills formation, hence the inability of the economy to absorb high-level professional skills. Specifically, the thesis is that given a large supply of physicians, scientists, and engineers superimposed on a low level and speed of economic progress, an exodus of a considerable number of these professionals may be expected

Infrastructure and Inclusive Growth

Empirical evidence from Asia and the rest of the world shows the positive role of infrastructure in improving the quality of life, especially for the poor. Infrastructure is more than an input to businesses; its services also meet people’s basic needs and wants. Straub and Terada-Hagiwara (2011) make this point and further note that utility services can account for an important part of household spending: Water utility services, for instance, may account for a significant fraction of poor households’ budget. Although they only make up 0.8% of the household budget of the poor in the PRC and 3.2% in Cambodia, they account for 16%–33% of total spending of the poorest households in Indonesia. Similarly, energy expenditures can account for significant shares of the total spending of the poorest families, ranging from 2.9% in Viet Nam to 7.6% in the PRC, 9% in Indonesia, and 24% in Cambodia. For this reason alone, a more efficient provision of infrastructure services, allowing for lower charges, can raise the real incomes, including for the poor. Infrastructure can have a strong impact on the incidence and depth of poverty by supporting inclusive growth, i.e., economic growth that can facilitate a meaningful and sustainable poverty reduction (World Bank, 2009). Infrastructure affects enterprise productivity, and a lack of access to utility services such as electricity is a significant barrier to doing business, especially for small firms. ICT services can also be a powerful stimulus to increase productivity across sectors, which in turn can lead to increased employment and income levels and a reduction in poverty

The Question of the Brain Drain in the Philippines

This paper attempts to examine the brain drain problem of the Philippines within a simple economic framework. What is the extent of the problem? Why is there such a problem? These are the main questions that will be addressed to. We shall argue that the real problem of the Philippines is not so much the brain drain as misdirected training and skills formation, hence the inability of the economy to absorb high-level professional skills. Specifically, the thesis is that given a large supply of physicians, scientists, and engineers superimposed on a low level and speed of economic progress, an exodus of a considerable number of these professionals may be expected

Infrastructure and Inclusive Growth

Empirical evidence from Asia and the rest of the world shows the positive role of infrastructure in improving the quality of life, especially for the poor. Infrastructure is more than an input to businesses; its services also meet people’s basic needs and wants. Straub and Terada-Hagiwara (2011) make this point and further note that utility services can account for an important part of household spending: Water utility services, for instance, may account for a significant fraction of poor households’ budget. Although they only make up 0.8% of the household budget of the poor in the PRC and 3.2% in Cambodia, they account for 16%–33% of total spending of the poorest households in Indonesia. Similarly, energy expenditures can account for significant shares of the total spending of the poorest families, ranging from 2.9% in Viet Nam to 7.6% in the PRC, 9% in Indonesia, and 24% in Cambodia. For this reason alone, a more efficient provision of infrastructure services, allowing for lower charges, can raise the real incomes, including for the poor. Infrastructure can have a strong impact on the incidence and depth of poverty by supporting inclusive growth, i.e., economic growth that can facilitate a meaningful and sustainable poverty reduction (World Bank, 2009). Infrastructure affects enterprise productivity, and a lack of access to utility services such as electricity is a significant barrier to doing business, especially for small firms. ICT services can also be a powerful stimulus to increase productivity across sectors, which in turn can lead to increased employment and income levels and a reduction in poverty

Small-Scale Industry Promotion: Economic and Social Impact Analysis

The end of 1960s has witnessed many developing countries with high level of unemployment and inequitable distribution of income. Several strategies have been emphasized, the most popular of which is the promotion of small-scale industries (SSE). These industries are labor-intensive and are therefore suited to labor-abundant countries such as the Philippines. It has also been argued that these improve income distribution and promote rural and regional development. This paper examines the effects of small-scale enterprises on economic and social concerns focusing on the government’s effort for its promotion and its economic and social impacts. Results indicate that while SSE’s contribution to development may have been overstated, support rendered to it is worthwhile. It has been found out that SSE has significant positive impact on employment, production, energy efficiency and income. However, its impact on health, fertility, migration and environment is difficult to determine and is therefore not conclusive.economic/development modelling, small and medium enterprises