The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) continues to be recognized as one of the world's best think tanks for its outstanding public policy research, analysis, engagement, and impact.

In the 2014 Global Go To Think Tanks Report and Policy Advice of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania, PIDS was recognized in three categories. PIDS remained the top social policy think tank in Southeast Asia and 37th among the top 50 in the world. It was also ranked 69th among the top 80 international development think tanks—one notch higher than its ranking in 2013.  Meanwhile, the Institute is now part of the 55 top education policy think tanks in the world at 33rd place.

Other think tanks in Southeast Asia that made it to the list under these categories were Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) which is also in Singapore, and Malaysia’s Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) and Third World Network. TDRI ranked 20th among the education policy think tanks and 66th in the international development think tanks category; SIIA and Third World Network ranked 70th and 72nd, respectively, among the international development think tanks; while ISEAS ranked 41st among the social policy think tanks.

The Go To Think Tanks Index is a comprehensive ranking of the world's top think tanks and has been described as the premier database and measure of world think tanks. It aims to increase the profile, performance, and impact of think tanks, and to create a transnational and interdisciplinary network of centers of public policy excellence.

Think tanks are public-policy research analysis and engagement organizations that generate policy-oriented research, analysis, and advice on domestic and international issues, thereby enabling policymakers and the public to make informed decisions about public policy. For its latest rankings, 6,618 think tanks from 182 countries were invited or nominated to participate in the process.

PIDS President Gilberto Llanto makes a plea for more resources and support to research institutes in the country.  “Despite having only a handful of researchers compared to other better-endowed research institutes in the region and in the Philippines, the PIDS has consistently made significant contribution and influence on Philippine development policy through its active and close collaboration with government agencies, academic and research institutions, and international organizations. Its various research outputs are widely disseminated through its publications (both print and online), conferences, and seminars conducted on a nationwide scale,” he said.

PIDS is a state-funded think tank devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions. Since its establishment in 1977, it has been engaged in conducting long-term, evidence-based research that serves as inputs in crafting socioeconomic policies for the country. PIDS has completed almost 1,000 studies covering a wide range of issues that encompass macroeconomic, agricultural, trade and industrial policies, health economics, education, environment, natural resource management, urban development and social services, and governance.

Established in 1989, the TTCSP aims to acknowledge the important contributions and emerging global trends of think tanks worldwide. Often referred to as the “think tanks’ think tank,” the program maintains a database and network of more than 6,600 think tanks in 182 countries.

“In a world filled with tweets and sound bites that are often superficial and politically charged,” said James McGann, director of the TTCSP, “it is critical to know where to turn for sound policy proposals that address our complex policy issues. This independent Index is designed to help identify and recognize the leading centers of excellence in public policy research around the world.”

The Philippine APEC Study Center Network (PASCN) is a regular component project of PIDS. It was established by virtue of Administrative Order issued by President Fidel V. Ramos on 23 November 1996 as the Philippines' response to the APEC Leaders Education Initiative (ALEI). The establishment of the PASCN is particularly relevant to one of ALEI's components which calls for the promotion of APEC-related studies and greater exchange of scholars and students among institutions of higher learning in the region.

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20 FEBRUARY 2015
Public Presentation on Rapid Appraisal Study on the Readiness of the Philippines for the Regional Economic Integration of the ASEAN Community by 2015
VILLAR SIPAG, C5 Extension, Las Piñas City
Speakers: Dr. Roehlano M. Briones (PIDS) and Dr. Ramon Clarete (UPSE)

11 FEBRUARY 2015
Pulong Saliksikan on Fed`s Monetary Policy and the Rising Dollar: Impact on Asia and Emerging Economies"
Room 208, NEDA sa Makati Bldg., Amorsolo Street, Makati City
Speaker: Dr. Dan Steinbock

POLICY NOTE

• PN 2015-02: The National Greening Program: Hope for Our Balding Forests
  by Danilo C. Israel and Maria Diyina Gem Arbo
  

The National Greening Program (NGP) is a priority program of the government that aims to reduce poverty; promote food security, environmental stability, and biodiversity conservation; and enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation. It is, therefore, not a straightforward reforestation effort but a larger program intended to attain other important national objectives as well.

This Policy Note briefly reviews the performance so far of the NGP at the national and regional levels based on available data and information from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Commission on Audit, and from a recent study conducted by PIDS. The study concludes with some recommendations that can be done in the interim to improve the conduct of the NGP. This Note also discusses the newly commenced NGP impact assessment project being conducted by PIDS and other program-related developments. This impact assessment should provide further recommendations for the implementation of the program in its closing years and the conduct of future reforestation programs. Click here for the full article

DISCUSSION PAPERS

• DP 2015-08: Targeting the Agricultural Poor: The Case of PCIC’s Special Programs
  by Celia M. Reyes, Reneli Ann B. Gloria, and Christian D. Mina

Under the Aquino administration, premium subsidies on agricultural insurance have significantly increased, mostly due to the special programs being implemented by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC). This paper attempts to describe the various fully subsidized agricultural insurance programs of the PCIC, the rationale of each, the beneficiary selection procedures that they undertake, and highlights the implementation issues and concerns that might have policy and welfare implications crucial to their success. The paper finds that the lack of predictability or continuity in implementing these programs, coupled with difficulties in interagency coordination, has posed operational challenges in implementing these. There is also a need for an overarching policy to guide the administration of government subsidies in agricultural insurance, as well as guidelines on prioritization of beneficiaries, to help PCIC offer continued services to the identified beneficiaries and determine who to prioritize.

Click here for the full article

• DP 2015-07: Review of Design and Implementation of the Agricultural Insurance Programs of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation
  by Celia M. Reyes, Christian D. Mina, Reneli Ann B. Gloria, and Sarah Joy P. Mercado

The situation of the poor who participate in the country’s agricultural sector has been exacerbated by the increasingly prevalent natural calamities, pests, and other such unpredictable event. However, there are certain risk management tools that aid in lessening the farmers’ financial burden when losses related to such natural disasters are incurred. One of them is the crop or agricultural insurance. In the Philippines, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) is the government organization that implements rice, corn, high-value commercial crop, livestock, noncrop agricultural asset, fishery, and term insurance programs. The question thus arises regarding the effectiveness and sustainability of the said programs. It is thus the purpose of this study to review the design and implementation of the PCIC’s insurance programs. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions with various PCIC clients and partners in selected regions of the country, together with desktop review and secondary data analysis, were conducted.

Click here for the full article

• DP 2015-06: Does Innovation Mediate Good Firm Performance?
  by Gilberto M. Llanto and Fatima del Prado

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.

Click here for the full article

• DP 2015-05: A Comprehensive Philippine Government Strategy on the Competitiveness of the Services Sector
  by Ramonette B. Serafica

There is now broad consensus that the Philippines should aim to have a globally competitive services sector. Applying Porter’s framework on creating national competitive advantage (the diamond), this paper presents a comprehensive government strategy recognizing that it has an important albeit partial role in attaining the national vision for services. Moreover, it emphasizes that the proper role for government policy toward industry is to stimulate dynamism and upgrading.

The strategy covers four interdependent sets of policies that influence national advantage, namely, policies to enhance a country’s position in the factors of production relevant to the industry, policies that raise the quality of domestic demand necessary for constant upgrading, policies to ensure the presence of supporting and related industries, and policies to influence competitive behavior through firm strategy, structure, and rivalry.

Click here for the full article

• DP 2015-04: Competition Reform in the Philippine Rice Sector
  by Roehlano M. Briones and Beulah dela Pena

The rice sector is regulated by the National Food Authority, with imports under a statutory monopoly. Consistent with previous studies done on the rice supply chain, a rapid appraisal finds that the domestic paddy and rice supply chain is highly competitive. Entry into import business is however severely curtailed. Welfare analysis indicates that in 2013, if quantitative restrictions were eliminated and rice imports were allowed to freely enter the country, rice imports would have increased tenfold, bringing down the retail price of rice to PHP 19.80/kg from PHP 33.08/ kg. Consumer surplus would have increased by PHP 178 billion, compared to a PHP 34 billion reduction in producer surplus, for a net social benefit of PHP 138 billion. This paper recommends tariffication, i.e., liberalized importation policy with moderate tariffs.

Click here for the full article

• DP 2015-03: Risk Aversion among Smallholder High-value Crop Farmers in the Southern Philippines
  by Sonny N. Domingo, Kevin A. Parton, John Mullen, and Randall Jones

Several elicitation techniques were employed to gauge the attitudes to risk of smallholder high-value crop farmers in the southern Philippines. Results showed varying degrees of risk aversion, neutrality, and preference among smallholder farmers. Although some of the techniques classified distinct groups of local growers as either risk-averse or risk-preferring, the estimated risk aversion coefficients were relatively low signifying an inclination toward risk neutrality. These may partly explain the degree of openness or non-openness of smallholder farmers to cultural changes and development interventions. Variations in farmers’ risk attitude classification among the different elicitation methods indicate the need for further validation studies and more definitive evaluation standards.


Click here for the full article

• DP 2015-02: Diagnostic Report on the Bus Transport Sector
  by Sonny N. Domingo, Roehlano M. Briones, and Debbie Gundaya

The bus transport sector evolved from a highly regulated and concentrated market with a handful of players in the 1970s to a more liberalized albeit still regulated market with hundreds of small operators. Major reforms in bus transport regulation were carried out in the early 1990s and 2000s among which were more liberal policy and a supposed moratorium on new franchises. The current market operates under a complicated regime where regulation and enforcement is shared by several agencies. Market inefficiencies manifest in too many operators and buses, and indiscipline in the road adding to traffic congestion problems in the Metro. The fragmented nature of both the sector’s regulatory and supply side impedes synchronization among stakeholders and incurs huge costs to industry operators and the riding public.

Click here for the full article

• DP 2015-01: Inequalities in Income, Labor, and Education: The Challenge of Inclusive Growth
  by Jose Ramon G. Albert, Jesus C. Dumagan, and Arturo Martinez, Jr.

While economic growth is important for poverty reduction, the rather stellar performance of the Philippines in economic growth has still not translated into reduction of poverty. This is in large part due to issues pertaining to distribution. Inequalities in income, as well as inequities in labor and education, have provided barriers for everyone to participate in growth processes. The study looks at trends in various statistics on poverty and income distribution, and then examines how disparities in opportunities across rural/urban areas, between the sexes, and between the poorest and richest segments of society in labor and education have prevented the country from reducing poverty. It also examines why the conditional cash transfer program can provide opportunities toward more social and economic inclusiveness. Click here for the full article.

Click here for the full article

GROSS INTERNATIONAL RESERVES

Based on the preliminary data, the gross international reserves (GIR) rose to US$79.806 billion as of end of December 2014. This level was lower compared to that of the same period in 2013 at US$83.2 billion. Nonetheless, the GIR remains ample as it can cover 10.2 months' worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income.

Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

VIEW TABLE for the time-series data on gross international reserves.

HEADLINE INFLATION

The country's annual headline inflation rates further went down to 2.7 percent in December 2014, from 3.7 percent in November 2014. The rate was 4.1 percent during the same period last year. The downtrend was primarily due to the annual decreases in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, and transport. The indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; furnishing, household equipment, and routine maintenance of the house; health; and recreation and culture also contributed to the slower annual increments. Likewise, core inflation rate went down to 2.3 percent in December, from 2.7 percent in November 2014.

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority - National Statistics Office

VIEW TABLE for time-series data on year-on-year inflation rate.

PHILIPPINE STOCK EXCHANGE INDEX

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) ended at 7,230.57 in 2014. This is higher by 25.48 percent compared to last year's 5,762.53.

Source: Philippine Stock Exchange

VIEW TABLE for time-series data on Philippine Stock Exchange Index.

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