Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Rosa Alonso i Terme Author-Name-First: Rosa Author-Name-Last: Alonso i Terme Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: Why Has Latin America Sped Up Ahead of the Philippines in Economic and Political Reform? Abstract: This paper compares trends in key economic, political and social development outcomes in the Philippines with those of Latin America, particularly since the 1990s. To do so, it uses standard indicators of development, including measures of institutional quality and good governance. The paper finds that Latin America is not only at a higher level of development, but has also made faster progress in most areas than the Philippines. This is especially the case as regards GDP per capita, poverty, education, health, infrastructure, social protection, right to life and security of the person and corruption. The Philippines, however, performs significantly better as regards gender and race and in some “niche” areas of ICT, including high-tech exports, while posting slightly higher ratings in government effectiveness. Both regions do well in the areas of macro-economic management and financial sector development. Overall performance as regards the quality of democracy is also roughly comparable. The paper argues that key policy drivers of the divergence include Latin America’s: a) higher and better public spending; b) greater transparency and integrity in both the public and private sectors; and c) freer and more competitive markets. Length: 81 pages Creation-Date: 2015-02 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-01, February 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1471 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201501 Classification-JEL: H11, O11, P16, P51 Keywords: public economics, development economics, political economy, economic systems Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201501 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Stella Luz A. Quimbo Author-Name-First: Stella Luz Author-Name-Last: Quimbo Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Author-Name: Joseph J. Capuno Author-Name-First: Joseph Author-Name-Last: Capuno Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Author-Name: Aleli D. Kraft Author-Name-First: Aleli Author-Name-Last: Kraft Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Author-Name: Rhea Molato Author-Name-First: Rhea Author-Name-Last: Molato Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Author-Name: Carlos Tan, Jr. Author-Name-First: Carlos Author-Name-Last: Tan Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: Where does the money go? Assessing the expenditure and income effects of the Philippines' Conditional Cash Transfer Program Abstract: Evaluation studies on conditional cash transfers (CCT) in the Philippines found small if not insignificantly different from zero effects on household consumption. We use propensity score matching to examine how recipients made use of the money they received, taking into account possible changes in recipient behavior. We find evidence of crowding in—CCT households receive higher transfers from other domestic sources as a positive spillover from becoming CCT beneficiaries Poor CCT households tend to lower their dissavings while non-poor beneficiaries become less indebted. We also find evidence of lower income, lower wages, and lower work-related expenses. Length: 27 pages Creation-Date: 2015-02 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-02, February 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1472/ File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201502 Classification-JEL: D12, I38, H53 Keywords: Conditional cash transfers, household income and consumption, Philippines Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201502 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Emmanuel S. de Dios Author-Name-First: Emmanuel Author-Name-Last: de Dios Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: Completing Ostrom’s Table : A Note on the Taxonomy of Goods Abstract: A framework is proposed to subsume public goods and common-pool resources, respectively, as specific cases of positive and negative externalities. A pure public good is a positive externality whose appropriable benefits are too small or too uncertain relative to the high private cost for anyone to produce it in any amount. The common-pool problem is a case where each agent’s action imposes a negative externality on everyone else. Length: 8 pages Creation-Date: 2015-03 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-03, March 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1474 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201503 Classification-JEL: D61, D62, H41, H42 Keywords: public goods, common-pool resources, positive and negative externalities Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201503 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Raul V. Fabella Author-Name-First: Raul Author-Name-Last: Fabella Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: Differential Delivery Dates, Retrievability and the Incentives Compatibility of Contracts Abstract: Differential delivery dates (D3) of contract obligations characterize most contracts in real life. D3 puts the contractor who delivers last, in the words of David Hume (1769), in “a position of advantage” because reneging on his/her obligation can be profitable. Ex-ante remedies such as Coase’s “ownership”, Williamson’s “hostage”, Klein et al’s “vertical ownership”, Grossman and Hart’s “assignment of residual rights”, etc have been proposed. The principal’s decision to appropriate the quasi-rent generated by the agent delivering effort first under possibly weak public ordering and non-zero retrievability of delivered effort is explicitly modeled. We give the sufficient conditions for the preservation of the incentives compatibility of the simple P-A effort-in-advance contract in the D3 environment. Length: 10 pages Creation-Date: 2015-04 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-04, April 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1475 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201504 Classification-JEL: D52, D86 Keywords: incentives compatibility, quasi-rent appropriation, retrievability, incentives contract Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201504 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Raul V. Fabella Author-Name-First: Raul Author-Name-Last: Fabella Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: N-Poly Viability and Conglopolistic Competition in Small Emerging Market Abstract: The economic catch-up of the East Asian region went hand-in-hand with the emergence and even dominance of large quasi-state or private conglomerates. Such for example were the Zaibatsus in the pre-WWII and the Keiretsus of the post-WWII Japan and the Chaebols of South Korea which enjoyed extensive state sponsorship and the Taipan-led business empires of South and South East Asia which were largely autonomic. The trend continues to this day especially in the People’s Republic of China. This dominance was not just an accidental fixture but the natural result of the economic and social environments prevalent in emerging markets. After reviewing the literature on why a few large private conglomerates tended to dominate the landscape of less developed economies in a rapid catch-up mode, we attempt a game theoretic account for the spread of these firms across different markets. We first define the concept of “n-poly viability” or the number of firms that can profitably Cournot compete in a market of a given the size and fixed capital requirement. We then show that conglopolistic competition (conglomerates competing in many markets) is a subgame perfect equilibrium of an entry game among initial monopolists and that this evolution is consumer welfare-improving. We identify the conditions under which only one firm or no firm benefits from the evolution. Length: 17 pages Creation-Date: 2015-04 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-05, April 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1473 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201505 Classification-JEL: C79, C72 Keywords: behavioral, polymorphism, Bayesian, cooperation, groups Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201505 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Raul V. Fabella Author-Name-First: Raul Author-Name-Last: Fabella Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Author-Name: Vigile Marie Fabella Author-Name-First: Vigile Marie Author-Name-Last: Fabella Author-Workplace-Name: Universitaet Konstanz Title: Re-Thinking Market Failure in the Light of the Imperfect State Abstract: We propose a formal re-definition of the concept market failure based on the idea of the imperfect state. In the Neo-classical taxonomy, a decentralized regime of exchange is a market failure if its laissez faire equilibrium solution is welfare-dominated by a technically feasible alternative. If the state is perfect, that is, benevolent and its transactions cost of intervention is zero, every market failure can be remedied/corrected with a welfare gain. If the state is imperfect, that is, either non-benevolent or with non-zero transactions cost, the state intervention to correct the market failure can be welfare-reducing. Extending the logic behind Williamson’s remediableness criterion and Stiglitz’ constrained Paretoness, we introduce a new taxonomy of failures: the concept “proto-failure” now denotes any failure which laissez faire interaction cannot remedy without a welfare gain. The label “market failure” now denotes a proto-failure which the relevant state can correct with a welfare gain. A proto-failure that the relevant state cannot correct with a welfare gain we call “RC efficient.” We use the net welfare metric which explicitly accounts for transactions cost of intervention as efficiency criterion. The new taxonomy is equivalent to the old if the state is perfect, that is, all proto failures are market failures. When the state is imperfect, the set of market failures is smaller than the set of proto-failures. A proto-failure is a necessary--but not a sufficient--condition for a welfare-improving government intervention. This paper follows the Williamson counsel to “push the logic of positive transactions cost to completion.” Length: 17 pages Creation-Date: 2015-04 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-06, April 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1476 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201506 Classification-JEL: D60, D61, D63, D23, D04, H21 Keywords: proto-failure, market failure, transactions cost, imperfect state, welfare economics Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201506 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Jean-Pascal Bassino Author-Name-First: Jean-Pascal Author-Name-Last: Bassino Author-Workplace-Name: Lyons Institute of East Asian Studies Author-Name: Jeffrey G. Williamson Author-Name-First: Jeffrey Author-Name-Last: Williamson Author-Workplace-Name: Harvard University, University of Wisconsin, and University of the Philippines School of Economics Title: From Commodity Booms to Economic Miracles: Why Southeast Asian Industry Lagged Behind Abstract: We propose a formal re-definition of the concept market failure based on the idea of the imperfect state. In the Neo-classical taxonomy, a decentralized regime of exchange is a market failure if its laissez faire equilibrium solution is welfare-dominated by a technically feasible alternative. If the state is perfect, that is, benevolent and its transactions cost of intervention is zero, every market failure can be remedied/corrected with a welfare gain. If the state is imperfect, that is, either non-benevolent or with non-zero transactions cost, the state intervention to correct the market failure can be welfare-reducing. Extending the logic behind Williamson’s remediableness criterion and Stiglitz’ constrained Paretoness, we introduce a new taxonomy of failures: the concept “proto-failure” now denotes any failure which laissez faire interaction cannot remedy without a welfare gain. The label “market failure” now denotes a proto-failure which the relevant state can correct with a welfare gain. A proto-failure that the relevant state cannot correct with a welfare gain we call “RC efficient.” We use the net welfare metric which explicitly accounts for transactions cost of intervention as efficiency criterion. The new taxonomy is equivalent to the old if the state is perfect, that is, all proto failures are market failures. When the state is imperfect, the set of market failures is smaller than the set of proto-failures. A proto-failure is a necessary--but not a sufficient--condition for a welfare-improving government intervention. This paper follows the Williamson counsel to “push the logic of positive transactions cost to completion.” Length: 40 pages Creation-Date: 2015-05 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-07, May 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1477 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201507 Classification-JEL: F14, L60, N65, O14 Keywords: Manufacturing growth, Southeast Asia, history Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201507 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Ernesto M. Pernia Author-Name-First: Ernesto Author-Name-Last: Pernia Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Author-Name: Maria Janela M. Generoso Author-Name-First: Maria Janela Author-Name-Last: Generoso Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: Solar Power's Rise and Promise Abstract: Time was when solar energy was facilely dismissed as impractical, inefficient, and pricey. In recent years, however, innovations in technology, regulation, and financing have resulted in remarkable efficiency improvements and price reductions, thereby reversing the skepticism about this renewable energy (RE) source. In this paper, we explore how this has happened, to what extent photovoltaic solar technology has been accepted around the world, and what might be its potential for inclusive green growth. We find that adoption of both on-grid and off-grid solar systems has been widespread and rapidly increasing. Particularly noteworthy is the utilization of small- scale individual or distributed off-grid solar home systems (SHS) in remote and underserved areas in the developing world, including East Africa and South Asia. It appears that the Philippines has been a relative latecomer. Data show that solar power's "installed" capacity remains a tiny fraction of all RE sources (that also include hydro, geothermal, wind, biomass, and ocean). Moreover, such capacity is for ongrid only; there seems none as yet installed for off-grid SHS. We conclude with the paper's main points and possible implications for policy and research. Length: 26 pages Creation-Date: 2015-08 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-08, August 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1478 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201508 Classification-JEL: O10, O14, Q20, Q28 Keywords: Renewable energy, Inclusive green growth, Rural electrification, Economic development Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201508 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Edita Abella Tan Author-Name-First: Edita Author-Name-Last: Tan Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: How We Measure Poverty Understates its Extent and Depth: Some Results Abstract: The paper examined the methodology used for measuring the country’s poverty line and poverty rate. It finds that the poverty line was not based on the cost of meeting an acceptable or minimum standard of living or of meeting basic needs by which to classify families as poor as is customarily done in other countries. The measure uses a simple construct referred to as subsistence poverty line to establish the overall poverty line. The subsistence poverty line is estimated to be the cost of food consumption of low-income families that meets their nutritional requirements. Thirty per cent of the subsistence poverty line is added to it to account for all non-food needs. The allotted budget for non-food needs is too low and not sufficient to meet the cost of all non-food basic needs. Consequently, the poverty line as measured does not meet all basic needs including food and underestimates the country’s poverty rate. The underestimation of the poverty rate is seen in the higher rate of deprivation in particular basic needs such as housing, food consumption and education than the official poverty line. The paper concludes by recommending that the government gives high priority to slum clearance and housing program as a strategy for social and economic development. Housing for the poor has not been a priority of the government. So far only about 1% of the national budget goes to housing. At this time, the government has the resources to launch a massive housing program to eradicate the slums in five to ten years time. The paper cites existing and potential sources to finance a massive housing program. It cites the very successful housing program of Singapore and how it contributed to its sustained high rate of economic development. Length: 24 pages Creation-Date: 2015-09 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-09, September 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1479 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201509 Classification-JEL: I32 Keywords: Measurement and analysis of poverty Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201509 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Florian A. Alburo Author-Name-First: Florian Author-Name-Last: Alburo Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: Gearing the Philippines for ASEAN Economic Community Abstract: This paper argues that the way for the Philippines to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is not through ASEAN but through the world. Being good neighbors will define the AEC and how the Philippines fits into it—not necessarily in the way it was planned. Of the 4 pillars underlying the AEC, the paper focuses on Pillar 1—Single Market and Production Base—and within this, trade in goods. During the period of AFTA implementation the Philippines did not only aggressively pursue a program of preferential tariff reduction but a concomitant reduction of MFN tariff rates. Between 1993 and 1999 the margins between Philippine AFTA rates and its MFN rates sharply declined, so that the initial preferential bias in terms of both exports to and imports from ASEAN diminished and trade shares with the region remained stable. In a sense the country’s readiness for AEC was already laid down at the start of AFTA and fortified when it unilaterally liberalized on an MFN basis. But this is only one, albeit critical, part, of the AEC package. The other pillars and the other parts of Pillar 1 are still beset by barriers to effective regional trade – mostly homegrown and putting the domestic house in order is necessary not only for the AEC but for firmer integration with the world economy. Even with the current progress in trade-in-goods, sustaining this requires a readiness that needs to be attended—with or without the AEC. Of the original 5 ASEAN members, most have successfully overcome barriers to integration into the regional and global trade and investment systems. Thus, for some of these countries, aggressive pursuit of the AEC is marginal and a by-product of global readiness. Their institutional machineries have been built around the global trading arena, their economic actors exploit their borders’ opportunities, their governments bold in forging agreements that open markets. The Philippines has yet to fully be ready for the global markets, its economic actors still have to appreciate borders and their potential for expanding markets, and its government carries out audacious reforms that realize its nearby neighbors can be exploited as part of the larger world economy. Length: 38 pages Creation-Date: 2015-09 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-10, September 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1480 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201510 Classification-JEL: F13, F15 Keywords: AEC, Regional and World Trade Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201510 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Majah-Leah V. Ravago Author-Name-First: Majah-Leah Author-Name-Last: Ravago Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Author-Name: Arsenio M. Balisacan Author-Name-First: Arsenio Author-Name-Last: Balisacan Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: Current Structure and Future Challenges of the Agricultural Sector Abstract: This chapter provides an overview of the patterns, composition, policies and institutional environment that have influenced the performance of the agriculture sector in recent years. The focus is on the changing dynamics of supply and demand for agriculture as a whole and for key commodity groups and livestock in the context of a growing economy, urbanization, and regional market integration. It concludes with a discussion of the policy and institutional challenges to making agriculture a key pillar in the country’s pursuit of inclusive growth, poverty reduction, and sustainable development. Length: 48 pages Creation-Date: 2015-10 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-11, October 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1481 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201511 Classification-JEL: Q10, Q17, Q18 Keywords: Philippine agriculture, structural transformation, poverty Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201511 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Cielo Magno Author-Name-First: Cielo Author-Name-Last: Magno Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: The Mining for Development Framework for the Philippines Abstract: Mineral extraction alone is not sufficient to trigger sustainable development in developing countries. The mainstream paradigm on mining for development suggests that mineral-rich developing countries need to formulate a fiscal policy that can balance the need to maximize fiscal revenue while ensuring that the country has an attractive investment climate. The presence of mining companies in poor remote communities is sufficient to initiate development. In this discussion, it is suggested that the fiscal policy should take into account the state of governance where mining is being conducted, the extent of linkages mining creates in the local economy and whether the Regalian doctrine applies to ownership of minerals. The raise-to-the-bottom approach in designing fiscal policies does not necessarily benefit mineral-rich developing countries. In the case of the Philippines, a more comprehensive development framework is necessary to ensure that mining contribute to the sustainable development of the Philippines. The framework should include: (1) good governance of the public and extractive sectors which entails institutionalization of transparency and accountability mechanisms, implementation of the United Nations guiding principles on business and human rights and strengthening of government's regulatory capacity; (2) effective allocative capacity and capacity to effectively manage the returns from the sector by the government so that the proceeds from mining contribute to sustainable development and ensure intergenerational equity; (3) establishment of linkages between the extractive sector and the rest of the economy to maximize the benefit of the extractive activity; and (4) fiscal policy that reflects fair share in the extraction of resources, the state of mining governance and the environment where extraction is conducted. Fair share in mining includes payment for the minerals owned by the government on top of the regular taxes the government imposes to all industries. Length: 38 pages Creation-Date: 2015-10 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-12, October 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1482 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201512 Classification-JEL: E62, L72, O13, H23 Keywords: mining, natural resource extraction, extractive industry, sustainable development, taxation Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201512 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Raul V. Fabella Author-Name-First: Raul Author-Name-Last: Fabella Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: Helping Cost, Assortative Matching and Production Cycles in the Dynamic Humean Farmer Game Abstract: We reformulate the Humean farmer game on the basis of random assignment of advantage and the cost e of helping in another’s harvest. The result is a game that is a coordination game if e < ˝ or a dominant strategy Prisoner’s Dilemma Game if e > ˝ which allows a joint treatment of the two interpretations of the Humean farmer game. We employ two behavioral types initially: the conditionally cooperative (H-type) and the free riding (NH-type). We employ replication dynamics with assortative matching and multiple production cycles to investigate which evolutionarily stable (EE) monomorphic population it engenders. We show that the ceiling for effort cost e to support an EE monomorphic H-type population in the Stag-Hunt game rises to (1 + b)/2 from 1/2 in pure random matching case. As the assortative index b rises, the basin of attraction of the EE H-type solution rises. When the assortative matching is perfect (b = 1), in the Stag-Hunt game version (0 < e < ˝), the monomorphic NH-type population (s* = 0) is no longer EE while the monomorphic H-type solution (s** = 1) is EE; in the Dominant Strategy game version (e > ˝), s* = 0 is EE iff e > (3/4) while s** = 1 is EE. Length: 16 pages Creation-Date: 2015-11 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-13, November 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1483 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201513 Classification-JEL: B0, B15, B31, C73 Keywords: Humean farmer game, helping cost, assortative matching, production cycles, emergence of cooperation Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201513 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Florian A. Alburo Author-Name-First: Florian Author-Name-Last: Alburo Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: Development Dynamics in the Philippines Historical Perspectives: 1950-2010 Abstract: This paper attempts to explore the use of an OECD Multi-Dimensional Country Review (MDCR) framework in understanding the long-term development history of the Philippines. The MDCR recognizes the multiplicity of development objectives countries usually pursue and therefore the associated multiplicity of challenges and opportunities. Following a conventional dichotomy of explaining the country’s development dynamics into economic and non-economic factors, the paper reviews the historical economic record and examines more recent non-economic hypotheses. While the latter is mostly political explanations it tries to link them to economic outcomes yet it is weak in tracing the mechanisms of the linkage despite using more rigorous methodologies. The paper then proceeds with hypothesizing that the long-term (political) behavior of breaking the country into finer geographical (and political) entities has been inimical to its sustainable long-term (economic) growth. The splitting of provinces, creation of new ones, of legislating more congressional districts, and further break-up of even the lowest government levels clearly fragment markets, raise real financial and transactions costs, bloat government budgets and the bureaucracy, and add burden to the private sector environment. Partial evidence is explored showing this behavior along the country’s long-term development history and some policy directions are suggested. Length: 29 pages Creation-Date: 2015-11 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-14, November 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1484 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201514 Classification-JEL: O11, O15, O43, J68 Keywords: Development dynamics in the Philippines, MDCR, Philippines Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201514 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Majah-Leah V. Ravago Author-Name-First: Majah-Leah Author-Name-Last: Ravago Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Author-Name: James Roumasset Author-Name-First: James Author-Name-Last: Roumasset Author-Workplace-Name: University of Hawaii Author-Name: Karl Jandoc Author-Name-First: Karl Author-Name-Last: Jandoc Author-Workplace-Name: University of Hawaii Title: Risk Management and Coping Strategies: Climate Change and Agriculture in the Philippines Abstract: This paper attempts to explore the use of an OECD Multi-Dimensional Country Review (MDCR) framework in understanding the long-term development history of the Philippines. The MDCR recognizes the multiplicity of development objectives countries usually pursue and therefore the associated multiplicity of challenges and opportunities. Following a conventional dichotomy of explaining the country’s development dynamics into economic and non-economic factors, the paper reviews the historical economic record and examines more recent non-economic hypotheses. While the latter is mostly political explanations it tries to link them to economic outcomes yet it is weak in tracing the mechanisms of the linkage despite using more rigorous methodologies. The paper then proceeds with hypothesizing that the long-term (political) behavior of breaking the country into finer geographical (and political) entities has been inimical to its sustainable long-term (economic) growth. The splitting of provinces, creation of new ones, of legislating more congressional districts, and further break-up of even the lowest government levels clearly fragment markets, raise real financial and transactions costs, bloat government budgets and the bureaucracy, and add burden to the private sector environment. Partial evidence is explored showing this behavior along the country’s long-term development history and some policy directions are suggested. Length: 49 pages Creation-Date: 2015-11 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-15, November 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1485 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201515 Classification-JEL: Q120, Q54, D81, I38 Keywords: Farm-household risk management, natural disaster, shock, coping Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201515 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Majah-Leah V. Ravago Author-Name-First: Majah-Leah Author-Name-Last: Ravago Author-Workplace-Name: School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman Author-Name: Dennis S. Mapa Author-Name-First: Dennis Author-Name-Last: Mapa Author-Workplace-Name: School of Statistics, University of the Philippines Diliman Title: Household Coping and Recovery from Nature’s Wrath: Rising from the Ruins of Yolanda Abstract: Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), one of the strongest storms ever recorded, hurled massive destruction across the central part of the Philippines in Nov 2013. The question foremost in everybody’s mind is whether the Yolanda-affected families have already recovered. Using the PCED Social Protection Survey conducted 6 months after the disaster, we find that 36% of the households have yet to experience even partial recovery. We investigate the various coping mechanisms that the Yolanda-affected families have employed to aid in their recovery using logit-regression analysis. We find that the most prominent coping activity is taking precautionary measures and asset disposal. Government assistance positively aided in the recovery but only of the poor. Further, the probability of recovery is lower for those that are located in the badly-hit Leyte relative to the other provinces. Length: 19 pages Creation-Date: 2015-11 Publication-Status: Published as UPSE Discussion Paper No. 2015-16, November 2015 File-URL: http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/1486 File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 201516 Classification-JEL: Q54, D81, I38 Keywords: Natural Disaster, shock, coping Handle: RePEc:phs:dpaper:201516