WEDNESDAY / 19 OCTOBER 2016

NEW PUBLICATIONS

POLICY NOTES

• PN 2016-18: Is the Community Mortgage Program Propoor?
  by Marife M. Ballesteros, Tatum P. Ramos, and Jasmine E. Magtibay

The government established the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), which is administered by the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), to enable informal settler families (ISFs) to purchase land by providing them with affordable financing. Loans are granted to community associations (CAs) where ISFs must belong to access the CMP. Given the government's significant subsidy to the program, has the CMP been able to address the needs of the poor and their communities? Results of the assessment show the equity requirements set by the SHFC prevented poor households from becoming program beneficiaries. As this could worsen with further increases in urban land price, this Policy Note recommends implementing an income-based subsidy scheme to prevent further exclusion of the poor. It also suggests making capacity building of the CAs an integral part of the CMP process. Click here for the full article.

• PN 2016-17: Continue but Redesign the Grant Program for Water Supply and Sanitation
  by Alma D. Porciuncula, Doreen Carla E. Erfe, and Adoracion M. Navarro

One approach used by the Philippine government to support the Millennium Development Goals for water supply and sanitation is to provide grant financing to waterless communities. This Policy Note presents the main findings of a study evaluating two grant financing programs--the President's Priority Program for Water Supply and the Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig para sa Lahat. The study involved process evaluation on the effectiveness and transparency of program execution, and qualitative impact evaluation to examine if the grant programs have achieved their objectives and if the capital investments are sustainable and could be the basis to further expand access to safe water supply and sanitation services. Both programs have issues on poor sustainability of investments. A defined management structure is suggested as a minimum requirement for grant provision. Grantees should also be required to participate in the Listahang Tubig, the water service providers' registry project, and to annually report their benchmarking indicators. Click here for the full article.

November 3, 2016
The 12th East Asian Institutes Forum: “The ASEAN Centrality and East Asia Cooperation”
Venue: Marco Polo Hotel, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

October 19, 2016
Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) Philippines: A Leading Economic Indicator
Venue: PIDS Conference Room, 18th Floor, Three Cyberpod Centris, EDSA, Quezon City

September 29, 2016
Inauguration of the PIDS Corner at the University of San Carlos (USC)
Venue: University of San Carlos, Cebu City

September 29, 2016
PIDS-USC Policy Forum on Social Protection and Risk Management (Results of the Impact Evaluation of the Government’s Community Mortgage Program and PCIC's Agricultural Insurance Programs)
Venue: University of San Carlos
Cebu City

September 22, 2016
2016 Second Annual Public Policy Conference on "Risks, Shocks, Building Resilience"
Venue: Marco Polo Ortigas Hotel, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

DISCUSSION PAPERS

• DP 2016-33: The Role of Indicators in Policy Formulation: The Case of Maternal and Child Health Care Policy in the Philippines
  by Janet S. Cuenca

The study examines the role of maternal mortality rate (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR) in policy formulation in the Philippines, specifically the controversial legislation of Republic Act 1034, otherwise known as "The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012". It involves taking stock and analysis of various Congressional Records and Senate Journals, particularly those relating to House Bill No. 4244 (An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development, and for Other Purposes) and Senate Bill No. 2865 (An Act Providing for a National Policy Reproductive Health and Population and Development), respectively. The findings of the study show that MMR and IMR have political influence on policy formulation. Click here for the full article.

• DP 2016-32: Economic Gain, Age Structure Transition, and Population Groups in the Philippines
  by Rachel H. Racelis, Michael Ralph M. Abrigo, J.M. Ian S. Salas, and Alejandro N. Herrin

A recent Philippine study examined economic gain from age structure transition at the national level by using economic support ratios and National Transfer Accounts estimates for the years 1991, 1999, and 2011. It also showed that the Philippines has steadily been experiencing demographic change and that there was economic gain from such change, as indicated by increasing support ratios during the indicated period.

The paper attempts to answer the questions: How do support ratios vary between groups? How do the variations in support ratios between groups compare across different years? Population groups are studied to determine whether those that have higher proportions in the working ages would show higher support ratios. The population is grouped into two attributes, namely, household income (terciles) and location of residence (urban or rural) for a total of six groups. These are used to observe variations in population age distributions, economic lifecycle patterns, and support ratios.Click here for the full article.

• DP 2016-31: Consumption, Labor Income, and Lifecycle Deficit by Urban-Rural Residence and by Income Group: Philippines National Transfer Accounts 1991, 1999, and 2011
  by Rachel H. Racelis, Michael Ralph M. Abrigo, J.M. Ian S. Salas, and Alejandro N. Herrin

Selected components of the NTA flow accounts were estimated for the Philippines in 1991, 1999, and 2011 by urban-rural residence and by income group. Referred to as income terciles, estimates were produced for the three income groups for the urban and rural areas. This paper compares age profiles of consumption, labor income, and lifecycle deficit across the six groups for each of the reference years. Age profiles were found to have the expected shapes but also showed variations between groups.

Some findings from the three reference years include progressively lower per capita consumption and labor income at each age as one moves from the top, middle, and to the bottom tercile in both urban and rural areas; higher urban area per capita labor income and consumption at all ages than those in rural areas; and shorter spans of the surplus ages for the bottom and middle terciles compared to that for the top tercile in both urban and rural areas. Click here for the full article.