Can the Services Sector Be an Engine of Economic Growth for the Philippines?

With the services sector outpacing the Philippines' manufacturing sector in terms of growth and contribution to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) for decades now, is it prudent, as some quarters propose, for the government to "abandon" the manufacturing sector and shift its policy in support of the services sector as the engine of economic growth for the Philippines? This Policy Notes emphatically says "no" and highlights the arguments against such policy shift.services sector, manufacturing sector, deindustrialization

Slotting Allowance: an Overlooked Angle in Grocery Retailing

Ever wonder why one product brand enjoys a more prominent shelf location in a particular retail establishment than another brand? Would such arrangement have any impact on the price one pays for a particular product? Answers to these are related to the relatively unexplored business phenomenon known as slotting allowances or fees for store shelf space. Read more about it...slotting allowance, retail market, distribution market, intermediate market, shelf space rental fee, product brand, store shelf space

The BPO challenge: Leveraging capabilities, creating opportunities

As the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, cross-border ICT-enabled services and business process outsourcing (BPO) are expected to contribute to economic integration and growth in the region. ICT-enabled services have grown significantly over the years and across many parts of the globe including several developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. While there may not be a single standard approach to developing the ICT-BPO sector, the successful experiences of developing countries can provide useful insights and practical lessons for countries contemplating to set up their ICT-BPO service industries. Using data from the Philippines, this paper describes the evolution of ICT-BPO services exports in the country and examines the factors that facilitated its transition from providing low-end contact center services to back-office operations, and to higher value-added services. The paper also reviews some of the APEC initiatives relevant to the growth and expansion of ICT-BPO services in the region. The Philippine experience has shown that IT-BPO services is one area of trade in services where developing countries can take a shot at sustainable development, without relying so much on traditional primary industries and natural resource. Although the presence of an educated workforce and good telecommunication infrastructure do not always guarantee success in this area, the investments in human capital and critical telecoms infrastructure - considered by many as a backbone for other important industries - are more than enough reward for the decision or attempt to pursue and board the IT-BPO bandwagon. There is still enough space and opportunity for other developing countries to "build appropriate domestic capacity" to effectively participate in this sector

Does Innovation Mediate Good Firm Performance?

Private firms invest in physical capital and human resource but they are also advised to invest in innovations to be more productive and profitable. Innovations refer to the development, deployment, and economic utilization of new products, processes, and services. It is important for firms to know whether investment in innovations is investment well-spent. Our empirical results provided an affirmative response to the question raised in this paper: "Does innovation mediate good firm performance?" Product and process innovations lead to increase in sales and profits and improve labor productivity. The paper also showed that firm size, age, and foreign equity are important factors leading firms to innovate

Tourism Fuels an Emerging City: The Case of Tagbilaran City, Bohol

This paper traces the urbanization experience of Tagbilaran City, Bohol taking into account the demographic development that took place, as well as the perceived contribution of tourism in the citys quest to firmly establish and improve its urban status. It also looks into the nature and magnitude of government responses to the demands of increasing urbanization, at the same time examines the citys attempts to benefit from the influx of tourists as Bohol Province attains national and international distinction of being one of the countrys top tourist destinations

Review of the Population Program: 1986-2002

This paper reviews the developments in the population program from 1986-2002. It summarizes the main components of the program as well as highlights the developments in its management and financing. The activities of donors, other government agencies and nongovernment organizations in these areas are likewise described. Finally, the review identified the main challenges of the program and provides ideas on the future directions on program thrusts, management and financing

Achieving the ASEAN Economic Community 2015: Challenges for the Philippines

ASEAN member countries are moving toward achieving the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) with the timeline set at 2015. It is therefore important for policymakers in the region to sustain the momentum - or perhaps even accelerate the pace - toward establishing the AEC. Policy measures are being implemented based on the AEC Blueprint agreed upon in 2007. However, progress among the ASEAN member countries in meeting their commitments has been uneven. This paper reviews the progress of the Philippines in meeting its commitments on the AEC and comparing it with achievements of other ASEAN countries. The paper also discusses some of the problems and constraints that may prevent the Philippines from benefiting from the AEC

Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Process in Negros Province

This paper is a narrative account and assessment of the grassroots participatory budgeting (GPB) process in three municipalities of the Negros Province, namely, Sagay City, Hinigaran, and Cauayan. The GPB process was implemented with the objective of empowering civil society organizations (CSOs) to engage with local government and national government agencies in local development planning. This study is a rapid assessment of the GPB process and involved interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders from the local government and civil society, and collection of relevant documents to examine how the GPB FY2015 planning process and prioritization of projects were implemented on the ground on the aspects of CSO participation, LGU-CSO engagement, and integration of GPB process in the local planning process; and to identify bottlenecks in the implementation of subprojects identified in FY2013 and FY2014 GPB process. The paper also provided some insights on areas for further improvement in the subsequent rounds

Integrating SMEs into the East Asian Region: Philippines

The paper aims to examine the characteristics and factors that constrain the growth of SMEs that are operating within and outside production networks. Based on a survey of 101 firms, the analysis shows that SMEs are not homogeneous. While they share certain characteristics such as age, Filipino ownership, and foreign equity share; they differ in terms of performance export intensity, interest rates on borrowings, major sources of finance, and other economic indicators. The results also show that participation in IPNs benefits SMEs particularly parts and components makers in the electronics and auto industries. In terms of performance, IPN firms have higher mean growth rate and mean labor productivity than non-IPN firms. In terms of barriers to growth, IPN firms are primarily concerned with product and price barriers and difficulties in establishing and maintaining trust with business partners while non-IPN firmsâ major concerns are tax, tariff and nontariff barriers and the countryâs deteriorating business environment. Two themes dominate SMEsâ concerns on the type of assistance needed. For IPN firms, financing assistance would be crucial while for non-IPN firms, technology development would be the most important

Family Planning and Maternal and Child Health Outcomes, Utilization and Access to Services by Asset Quintile: New Evidence from the FPS and MCHS

This paper addresses the lack of information on the disparity of outcomes, utilization and access to Family Planning and Maternal and Child Health services by socioeconomic classes. Household statistics on these services by asset class are presented in this paper. The asset classes were derived from an index generated using principal components analysis on the presence of household amenities and means of transportation. The information generated are useful for better targeting of government Family Planning and Maternal and Child Health Services which are supposedly primarily targeted to the poor