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on South East Asia |
| By: | Llanto, Gilberto M.; Medalla, Erlinda M.; del Prado, Fatima; Mantaring, Melalyn C.; Detros, Keith C.; Serafica, Ramonette B.; Ortiz, Ma. Kristina P.; Ortiz, Danica Aisa P.; Padronia, Pinky S.; Maddawin, Angelica B.; Ulep, Valerie Gilbert T. |
| Abstract: | The study identifies outstanding issues and bottlenecks and provides recommendations to facilitate the Philippines' full compliance to its commitments to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Various in-depth interviews and surveys were conducted with concerned stakeholders from government agencies and the private sector to bring to fore the issues and bottlenecks for policymakers' action. Although its focus is mainly on services and investment liberalization, this study also tracks policy changes in trade facilitation, nontariff measures, standards and conformance, and mutual recognition arrangements after the release of the 2010/2011 AEC Scorecard Reports. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, ASEAN economic integration, AEC scorecard, services liberalization, investment liberalization, trade facilitation, nontariff measures, standards and conformance, mutual recognition arrangements, ASEAN comprehensive investment agreement, medical professionals, maritime transport, telecommunications, tourism, banking, insurance, health services |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:rpseri:dp_2015-35&r=sea |
| By: | Manzano, George N.; Prado, Shanti Aubren |
| Abstract: | The paper evaluates the feasibility of sectoral liberalization of environmental goods for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Using the model originally developed by Wonnacott, it argues for the liberalization of goods predominantly supplied by APEC members, thereby minimizing the free rider problem that usually afflicts most favored nation liberalization. The paper then ranks the different items in the APEC list of environmental goods according to economic advisability, given the predominant supplier framework. It thus demonstrates the economic rationale why APEC, as a whole, should consider liberalizing a number of environmental goods. The paper also examines the distributional impact of the proposed scheme on the individual members, particularly on the trade interest of the Philippines. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), environmental goods, services, tariff, trade liberalization |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:rpseri:dp_2015-34&r=sea |
| By: | de Silva, Indunil; Sumarto, Sudarno |
| Abstract: | This study utilises a large nationally representative household survey of unusual scope and richness from Indonesia to analyse how the receipt of educational transfers, scholarships and related assistance programmes affects the labour supply of children and the marginal spending behaviour of households on children’s educational goods. We found strong evidence of educational cash transfers and related assistance programmes significantly decreasing the time spent by children in income-generating activities in Indonesia. Households receiving educational transfers, scholarships and assistance were also found to spend more at the margin on voluntary educational goods. These results were stronger for children living in poor families. Our results are particularly relevant for understanding the role of cash transfers and educational assistance in middle-income countries where enrolment rates are already at satisfactory levels, but the challenge is to keep the students in school at post-primary levels |
| Keywords: | Child labour, cash transfers, education expenditures and flypaper effects. |
| JEL: | D6 H4 I28 I38 |
| Date: | 2014–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:65311&r=sea |
| By: | Ulep, Valerie Gilbert T.; Dela Cruz, Nina Ashley O. |
| Abstract: | Health care remains inaccessible and inequitable for all, especially for the poor in the Philippines. Among the sources of health expenditures, out-of-pocket expenses remain to be Filipinos' major source of financing for medical care. However, it is this reliance on out-of-pocket expenditures that pushes Filipino households into poverty. This paper thus presents the current state of out-of-pocket expenditures in the Philippines by analyzing and estimating the burden of health payments, catastrophic payments, and impoverishments based on the Family and Income Expenditure Surveys from 2000 to 2012. This study reveals that out-of-pocket expenditures for health-care financing continue to increase. This study also reveals the higher share of out-of-pocket payments on households' nonfood expenditures. An increasing trend of catastrophic payments has been observed until recently where there was a 1.01-percent increase from 2000 to 2012. This is also the same for impoverishments: There is a rise in the prevalence of impoverished households due to high out-of-pocket expenditures. Furthermore, the poverty gap also increases after out-of-pocket payments. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, health expenditures, out-of-pocket expenditures, health care financing, household spending |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:pjdevt:pjd_2013_vol__40_nos__1-2d&r=sea |
| By: | Quoc-Anh Do (Département d'économie); Trang Van Nguyen (World Bank); Anh N. Tran (Indiana University Bloomington) |
| Abstract: | We study how the urgency of a public service affects its corruption level by analyzing thousands of reported bribes made by inpatients to doctors and nurses in Vietnam. Although it is commonly expected that citizens need to pay a higher bribe to receive a more valuable or urgent service, we find the opposite. Acute patients, despite having conceivably higher benefits of treatment, are 8 percentage points less likely than non-acute patients to pay bribes. If they do, they pay 18% less in bribes. This behavior suggests that even in a highly corrupt environment, public servants face an incentive to provide important services for citizens. To understand this incentive, we show that acute patients pay relatively lower bribes in facilities that are better monitored and audited more frequently. |
| Keywords: | Bribes; Corruption; Doctors; Acute Diseases |
| JEL: | D73 I15 O53 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/3tk4fhvbi18ndq2n4gs2e9pp6j&r=sea |
| By: | Quoc-Anh Do (Département d'économie); Kieu-Trang Nguyen (London School of Economics); Anh N. Tran (Indiana University Bloomington) |
| Abstract: | We study patronage politics in authoritarian Vietnam, using an exhaustive panel of ranking officials from 2000 to 2010 to estimate their promotions’ impact on infrastructure in their patrilineal hometowns. Favoritism is pervasive across all ranks, even among officials without budget authority. Promotions of officials strongly improve hometown infrastructure including roads, marketplaces, and irrigation. In contrast to democracies’ pork-barrel politics, elected legislators are not influential. Favoritism is likely motivated by officials’ social preferences for hometowns rather than by political considerations, because favors are narrowly targeted to small communes, and are stronger where local culture emphasizes the family bond. |
| Keywords: | Favoritism; Patronage; Authoritarian Regime; Political Connection; Hometown; Infrastructure |
| JEL: | O12 D72 H72 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/2ck6as9uec97fpod83b2hmfsvt&r=sea |
| By: | Racelis, Rachel H. |
| Abstract: | In 2012, there were about 4.5 million Filipinos attending private schools and an estimated 21.6 million employed by private establishments in the Philippines. Private schools and private establishments are thus strategically positioned to contribute toward the protection, promotion, and maintenance of the health of a very large number of Filipinos. The roles that these institutional units can play in the health care of the population have in fact been strengthened by government policies on school health, and on occupational safety and health. This paper examined the provision of student health services in private schools and employer-provided health-care services and benefits in private establishments using data from two recent surveys. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, health, employer-provided health care, private schools, student health services, health benefits |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:pjdevt:pjd_2013_vol__40_nos__1-2g&r=sea |
| By: | Silfverberg, Denise Valerie |
| Abstract: | The provision of social health insurance has been an increasingly popular mechanism for addressing financial barriers to health care in developing countries. In the Philippines, the social health insurance program known as PhilHealth has been expanding its breadth of coverage since its promulgation in 1995. This study looks at the regional- and provincial-level coverage of two different PhilHealth programs: the Individually Paying Program (voluntary) and the Employed Program (government and private), and identifies the possible reasons for the variation between provinces. Coverage levels for the Individually Paying Program were found to be considerably below the government's full coverage target. The regional average was found to be at 57 percent while provincial average was at 53 percent. For the Employed Program, both the private and government sectors have not achieved full coverage but the figures observed are promising. The private sector Employed Program's regional average is at 71 percent while the provincial average is at 75 percent. For the government Employed Program, the regional average lies at 74 percent while the provincial average is at 80 percent. The findings are possible propositions on how targeting should be implemented. For the government sector, no clear pattern was found based on the model presented. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, PhilHealth, employed program, individually paying program, social health insurance, universal health coverage |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:pjdevt:pjd_2013_vol__40_nos__1-2a&r=sea |
| By: | Reyes, Celia M. |
| Abstract: | The Aquino Health Agenda of 2010 articulates succinctly the Philippine health sector's aim for universal health coverage. The agenda has three thrusts: rapid expansion of enrollment and benefit delivery using subsidies for the poorest families, improved access to quality hospitals and health-care facilities, and attainment of health-related Millennium Development Goals through additional effort and resources targeted to the most critical areas in the country. Years after the launch of the agenda, the Department of Health collaborated with key institutions to implement the Health Systems Research Management (HSRM) Project, with the Philippine Institute for Development Studies as one of the collaborators. Through this HSRM project, several research projects were carried out, providing critical updates and new information on the progress of the health sector's Aquino Health Agenda. Several of these critical updates and new information are presented in this special volume of the Philippine Journal of Development. The volume focuses on health financing and service delivery, particularly PhilHealth coverage, household spending for health, and health infrastructure. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, PhilHealth, universal health coverage, health financing, health, Health Systems Research Management (HSRM), health service delivery |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:pjdevt:pjd_2013_vol__40_nos__1-2x&r=sea |
| By: | Banzon, Eduardo P.; Lucero, Josephine Anne C.; Ho, Beverly Lorraine C.; Puyat, Maria Elizabeth D.; Quibod, Emmae June A.; Factor, Patricia Ann A. |
| Abstract: | The World Health Organization advocates universal health coverage so that all people can obtain the needed health services without suffering financial hardships. In the Philippines, the government has included public-private partnerships (PPPs) as among its strategies in pursuit of universal health coverage, as PPPs can help fund the immediate repair, rehabilitation, and construction of selected priority health facilities. It also encourages local government units to tap PPPs in improving their service delivery. Given all these, it is important to define PPPs and distinguish them from all other forms of public-private interactions. Public-private investment partnerships (PPIPs) have been described as health-related PPPs that are potentially transformative for underperforming government-run health systems. These comprise of long-term, highly structured relationships between the public and private sectors designed to achieve significant and sustainable improvements to health-care systems at national or subnational levels. Since PPIPs are the type of PPPs that appropriately support the pursuit of universal health coverage, it is important that the country prioritizes PPIPs and consider the three PPIP options—namely, health-care delivery in the settings of primary care; hospital care; and an integrated system—as it moves ahead with implementing health PPPs. Although both PPIPs and public-private interactions are intended to improve the country's health outcomes, the former must be prioritized as it can improve the overall efficiency of the system. Ultimately, PPIPs must be integrated within the health system to demonstrate the country's commitment to the pursuit of universal health coverage. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, universal health care (UHC), health, public-private partnership (PPP), public-private investment partnerships, public-private interactions |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:pjdevt:pjd_2013_vol__40_nos__1-2f&r=sea |
| By: | Caballes, Alvin B. |
| Abstract: | Patients' financial protection is considered a key component of health systems and has been a consistent policy goal of the Department of Health. Of paramount importance are catastrophic health expenditures, which can severely restrict affected patients and families' access to much-needed services, contribute to (further) impoverishment, or both. This study was undertaken to determine the institutional mechanisms for addressing these expenditures and to develop a framework to improve the existing arrangements. Focus group discussions were held separately with patients (or family members), providers (clinical and support staff), and representatives of policy or financing agencies. One of the recommendations based on the inputs from the focus group discussions was to establish a dedicated unit to further develop relevant policies and strategies for the integrated financing of catastrophic health expenditures. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, catastrophic health expenditure, universal health care (UHC), financial risk protection, health financing |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:pjdevt:pjd_2013_vol__40_nos__1-2c&r=sea |
| By: | Picazo, Oscar F. |
| Abstract: | This paper briefly reviews the literature on the emerging concept of eco-adventure and cultural tourism, dubbed "green and gold tourism," respectively. It provides the rationale for conducting such a study in the Philippines (why the concern for inclusivity and environmental sustainability in tourism). It then establishes the feasible scope of such study and lists illustrative activities of inclusive and sustainable green and gold tourism. It also identifies concerns and issues about green and gold tourism in APEC countries and in the Philippines. Finally, it classifies emerging good practices in this area, including volunteer travel, promotion of home stays, community-organized and -owned tourism activities, establishing nonmainstream tourist routes and destinations, and tourists' involvement in cultural preservation and eco-rehabilitation. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, eco-adventure tourism, cultural tourism, green tourism, gold tourism, inclusive tourism, sustainable tourism, nontraditional tourism |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2015-33&r=sea |
| By: | Wong, John Q.; Baclay, Richelcyn M.; Duque, Richelle G.; Roque, Patricia Margarita S.; Serrano, Grace Kathleen T.; Tumlos, Jenina Olivia A.; Ronsing, Aisha-Aziza A.; Cochon, Kim |
| Abstract: | This study was designed to address the question of physicians' and drugstores' compliance with the provisions of the Generics Act of 1988. Furthermore, it aimed to explore consumer awareness of generic medicines and to explain current trends and practices in drug prescribing, dispensing, and use. The study utilized a cross-sectional design and assessed four variables: generic drug prescription, generic drug substitution/dispensing, price menu cards, and use of generic drugs. The country was divided into six zones; namely, North Luzon, South Luzon, National Capital Region, Visayas, Mindanao, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Stratified cluster random sampling was used to identify the provinces and cities to be included in the study. Data collection techniques used a survey among consumers coming out of a drugstore, key informant interviews with 30 physicians, and focus group discussions with 6–11 patients/watchers per zone. The survey revealed that five out of six drugs were written with generic names, with doctors in the public sector prescribing generics significantly more often than those in the private sector. Factors that positively affected generics prescribing behavior are: patient's welfare, compliance, patient’s financial situation, and fear of punishment. Because there is already high compliance among drug prescribers, government efforts should now be redirected toward drugstores and consumers. Drugstore compliance should be regularly monitored. Consumers need to be aware of their right to be informed about generic alternatives. Lastly, bioequivalence tests should be done to put an end to quality concerns over generic medicines. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, generics, drug use, prescribing, dispensing, social marketing |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:pjdevt:pjd_2013_vol__40_nos__1-2e&r=sea |
| By: | Pantig, Ida Marie T. |
| Abstract: | The national subsidy for indigent PhilHealth members identified under the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) began in 2011, in line with the government's call for universal health coverage. The subsidy involved making all individuals identified under the NHTS-PR automatically eligible for PhilHealth benefits. In 2014, the subsidy reached PHP 35 billion, which was sourced from the sin tax revenue. According to literature, health service use is anticipated to improve along with health insurance coverage. This paper explores how this change will affect the funds coming from the sin tax revenue for premium subsidy and PhilHealth's resources for benefit payment by examining administrative data and estimating loss ratios. The study finds that resources will be available for the premium subsidies but PhilHealth's collection from premiums will be much lower than the benefit payments. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, PhilHealth, social health insurance, universal health coverage, national government subsidy, premium subsidy |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:pjdevt:pjd_2013_vol__40_nos__1-2b&r=sea |
| By: | Dosmagambet, Yergali |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that an accelerated increase in educational attainments in many East Asian countries derives from a dramatic augmentation of working population with vocational education relative to general education. This is consistent with the recent literature, which argues that the ratio of vocational-to-general education tends to be higher in middle-income countries. We explore an analytical approach to open up fresh insights into the composition of secondary education and prove the existence of optimal trajectory that ensures a positive expansion rate of secondary education at early stage of development. Also, we demonstrate that the actual path of vocational-to-general education in Taiwan is very similar to what can be defined by optimal policy for secondary education, which has resulted in a rapid increase in average years of schooling since 1978. |
| Keywords: | Employment,Economic growth,Education,Human Capital |
| JEL: | E24 I20 I25 J24 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:pfhrps:201501&r=sea |
| By: | Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad (Asian Development Bank Institute); Yoshino, Naoyuki (Asian Development Bank Institute); Hossein Abadi, Majid Mohammadi (Asian Development Bank Institute); Farboudmanesh, Rosa (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the impact of crude oil price movements on two macro variables—the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate and consumer price index inflation rate—in the developed economies of the United States and Japan, and an emerging economy, the People’s Republic of China (PRC). These countries were chosen for this research because they are the world’s three largest oil consumers. The main objective of this study is to see whether these economies are still reactive to oil price movements. The results obtained suggest that the impact of oil price fluctuations on the GDP growth of the developed oil importers is much lower than on the GDP growth of the emerging economy. The main reasons for this lie in fuel substitution (higher use of nuclear energy, gas, and renewables), a declining population (for Japan), the shale gas revolution (for the United States), and strategic oil stocks and government-mandated energy efficiency targets in developed economies. All of these factors make developed economies more resistant to oil shocks. On the other hand, the impact of oil price movements on the PRC’s inflation rate was found to be milder than in the two developed countries that were examined. The main cause for this is that the PRC experiences a larger forward shift in its aggregate supply due to higher growth, which allows it to avoid a massive increase in price levels following oil price shocks. |
| Keywords: | oil price movements; oil importers; oil consumption; fuel substitution; price shocks |
| JEL: | E31 O57 Q43 |
| Date: | 2015–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0529&r=sea |
| By: | Gauvin, Ludovic; Rebillard, Cyril |
| Abstract: | China’s rapid growth over the past decade has been one of the main drivers of the rise in mineral commodity demand and prices. At a time when concerns about the sustainability of China’s growth model are increasingly rising, this paper assesses to what extent a hard landing in China would impact commodity exporters. After reviewing the main arguments pointing to a hard landing scenario – historical rebalancing precedents, overinvestment, unsustainable debt trends, and a growing real estate bubble – we focus on a sample of twenty-five countries, and use a global VAR methodology adapted to conditional forecasting to simulate the impact of a Chinese hard landing. We model metal and oil price separately to account for their different end-use patterns and consumption intensity in China, and we identify two specific transmission channels to commodity exporters: through exports (with both volume and price effects), and through investment (a fall in commodity prices reducing incentives to invest in the mining sector). According to our estimates, Latin American countries would be hardest hit – with a 6 percent cumulated growth loss after five years – followed by Asia (ex. China); advanced economies would be less affected. The "growth gap" between emerging and advanced economies would be considerably reduced, leading to partial recoupling. |
| Keywords: | China; hard landing; spillovers; global VAR; conditional forecast; emerging economies; commodities; recoupling |
| JEL: | C32 E17 E32 F44 F47 Q02 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:65457&r=sea |
| By: | L. Gauvin; C. Rebillard |
| Abstract: | China’s rapid growth over the past decade has been one of the main drivers of the rise in mineral commodity demand and prices. At a time when concerns about the sustainability of China’s growth model are rising, this paper assesses to what extent a hard landing in China would impact other countries, with a focus on trade and commodity price channels. After reviewing the main arguments pointing to a hard landing scenario – historical rebalancing precedents, overinvestment, unsustainable debt trends, and a growing real estate bubble – we focus on a sample of thirty-six countries, and use a global VAR methodology adapted to conditional forecasting to simulate the impact of a Chinese hard landing. We model metal and oil markets separately to account for their different end-use patterns and consumption intensity in China, and we identify three specific transmission channels to net commodity exporters: through real exports, through income effects (related to commodity prices), and through investment (a fall in commodity prices reducing incentives to invest in the mining and energy sectors); we also look at the role played by the exchange rate as a shock absorber. According to our estimates, emerging economies (ex. China) would be hardest hit – with a 7.5 percent cumulated growth loss after five years –, in particular in South-East Asia but also in commodity-exporting regions such as Latin America; advanced economies would be less affected. The "growth gap" between emerging and advanced economies would be considerably reduced, leading to partial recoupling. |
| Keywords: | China, hard landing, spillovers, global VAR, conditional forecast, commodities, recoupling |
| JEL: | C32 F44 E32 E17 F47 Q02 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bfr:banfra:562&r=sea |