PES Souvenir Contents

Souvenir Program
45th Annual Meeting

14-16 November 2007
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Message from the
BSP Governor

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
2
Message from the
PES President
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
3
Philippine The Philippine Economic Society (PES) was established
Economic in August 1962 as a nonstock, nonprofit professional
Society organization of ECONOMISTS.
(PES)
Over the years, the Society has served as one of the strongest
networks of economists in the academe, government, and
business sector.
Recognized in the international community of professional
economic associations and a founding member of the
Federation of Asean Economic Associations (FAEA),
the PES is truly a significant national and international
institution.
The PES continuously provides a venue for open and free
discussions of a wide range of policy issues through its
conferences and symposia.
Through its journal, the Philippine Review of Economics,
which it jointly publishes with the UP School of
Economics, the Society performs a major role in improving
the standard of economic research in the country and in
disseminating new research findings.
For more information about the Society, please visit its
website www.phileconsociety.org.
PES SECRETARIAT
Asia-Pacific Policy Center
Rms. 303-304, Philippine Social Science Center
Commonwealth Avenue
Quezon City
Telefax: 926.4615
email: secretariat@pes.ph
4
45th Annual Meeting
14-16 November 2007
Conference
Program
5
45th Annual Meeting Day 1. Wednesday, 14 November
14 November 2007
Master of Ceremonies
TERESO TULLAO, JR.
De La Salle University
08:00 AM REGISTRATION
09:00 AM OPENING CEREMONY

• Pambansang Awit ng Pilipinas
• Welcome Remarks
AMANDO M. TETANGCO
Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilpinas
• Opening Remarks
MICHAEL M. ALBA
President, Philippine Economic Society
09:30 AM KEYNOTE SPEECH

• Achieving broad-based development
SENEN C. BACANI
President, La Frutera, Inc
Entrepreneur of the Year 2006
10:00 AM COFFEE BREAK
10:30 AM PLENARY SESSION 1

• Sustaining economic growth
in the long-run
Moderator
PETER LEE U
University of Asia & the Pacific
Panelists
DANTE CANLAS
School of Economics, University of the Philippines
Constraints to long-run growth in the
Philippines
JONG-WHA LEE
Asian Development Bank
6
JEHAN ARULPRAGASAM 45th Annual Meeting
World Bank
14 November 2007
SAMIE LIM
Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry
12:00 NN LUNCH
Hosted by
Friedrich Naumann Foundation
Luncheon Speaker
SIEGFRIED HERZOG
Friedrich Naumann Foundation
01:30 PM PARALLEL PANELS 1

A. Trade: Regional &
economic integration
Organizer
GEORGE MANZANO
Panelists
EDSEL BEJA
Ateneo de Manila University
On the relevance of export-led growth to the
Philippines
ELIZABETH TAN
GLORA PASADILLA
Philippine Institute for Development Studies
B. Economics Education
Organizer
AGHAM CUEVAS
University of the Philippines-Los Banos
Panelists
AMELIA BELLO
RODGER VALIENTES
Grade inflation: Fact or myth?
7
45th Annual Meeting CHRISBELLE DIMAPILIS
14 November 2007
A review of tertiary economics education in
selected higher education institutions in the
Philippines
WALFRIDO BELEN
Ateneo de Manila Unviversity
C. Environment: Economics of mining

Organizer
FILOMENO STA ANA III
Action for Economic Reform
Panelists
ROLANDO PENA
Consultant, Lepanto Mines
Mining investments in the Philippines:
Strategic issues
ART BOQUIREN
University of the Philippines-Baguio
Cost-benefit case study of mining in Benguet
communities
MARVIC LEONEN
College of Law, University of the Philippines
Law and economics of mining
RINA ROSALES
Resource valuation in relation to mining
D. Competitiveness and productivity

Organizer
EPICTETUS PATALINHUG
College of Business Administration
University of the Philippines
Panelists
TERESA DUENAS-CAPARAS
Firm-level determinants of export performance:
Evidence from the Philippines
8
SANTOS JOSE DACANAY III 45th Annual Meeting
14 November 2007
Profit and cost efficiency of Philippine
commercial banks under periods of
liberalization, crisis and consolidation
NICETO POBLADOR
Kalayaan College
The changing face of competition
CYRUS PAULO BUENAFE

Hewlett-Packard Philippines
A way of determining the best evolution path
for export industries using product spaces
E. Philippine growth statistics:

How credible are they?
Organizer
WINFRED VILLAMIL
Moderator
CELIA REYES
Panelists
FELIPE MEDALLA
VICENTE VALDEPENAS
LOURDES HOMECILLO
National Statistics Office
Discussant
ESTRELLA DOMINGO
National Statistical Coordination Board
9
45th Annual Meeting F. Local government financial
14 November 2007 planning and management
Organizer
LEONARDO LANZONA
Panelists
RAYMUND FABRE
EPRA-Ateneo de Manila University
Introductory note: Highlights of
accomplishments of the sector
RUFO MENDOZA
Ateneo School of Government
Benchmarking study: Local financial
management framework for good governance
FLORECITA FLORES
Local Government Research & Consultancy Service
Situs of the tax: A study of its implementation
Discussants
PRISCILLA MONTESA
Department of Finance
FELIXBERTO MONASTERIO
Consultant, EPRS
G. Monetary reforms 1
Organizer
FRANCIS DAKILA JR.
Panelists
MA. CYD TUANO-AMADOR
RACQUEL CLAVERIA
FERNIDAND CO
VIC DELLORO
Philippine overseas workers and migrants’
remittances: The Dutch Disease question and
the cyclicality issue
10
FRANCIS DAKILA JR. 45th Annual Meeting
RACQUEL CLAVERIA 14 November 2006
Identifying the determinants of overseas
Filipinos’ remittances: Which exchange rate is
most relevant?
AGNES YAP
CRISTETA BAGSIC
Adjustments in the face of peso volatility:
Perspectives from the past and policy directions
03:00 PM COFFEE BREAK
03:30 PM PARALLEL PANELS 2

H. Health
Organizer
JOSEPH CAPUNO
Panelists
ALELI KRAFT
JOSEPH CAPUNO
STELLA QUIMBO
CARLOS ANTONIO TAN JR.
Information, incentives and practice patterns:
The case of TB DOTS services and private
physicians in the Philippines
CARLOS ANTONIO TAN, JR.

RUTH FRANCISCO
MARIFE BACATE
Do unintended pregnancies adversely affect the
use of facility-based delivery care?
JHIEDON FLORENTINO
STELLA QUIMBO
How will expanded insurance benefits and
quality improvements change patient behavior?
11
45th Annual Meeting I. Financial markets development
14 November 2007 Organizers
LEONARDO LANZONA
Moderator
ZENO ABENOJA
Panelists
KAREN TECSON
A stakeholder analysis on the initiative to
harmonize/integrate regulatory functions of
the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Securities
& Exchange Commission, and the Insurance
Commission
ROSEMARIE EDILLON
Asia-Pacific Policy Center
The consumer finance survey
Discussants
ANGELO UNITE
EMMANUEL GUINA
Rural Bank Association of the Philippines
J. Energy
Organizer
PETER LEE U
Panelists
ANNA WHITEHOUSE
Total Philippines Corporation
ZENAIDA MONSADA
Department of Energy
RAYMOND TAN
Bioenergy from a system level perspective
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K. Urban and land issues 45th Annual Meeting
Organizer 14 November 2007
ARTURO CORPUZ
Ayala Land Inc.
Panelists
MARIFE BALLESTEROS
Land administration and management issues:
Implications on CARP
PATRICK GERARD SIMON KING

A primer on land administration in the
Philippines and the Mango Avenue project
L. Regulation and development

Organizer
MICHAEL ALBA
Panelists
RAUL FABELLA
JOY ABRENICA
MARVIC LEONEN
College of Law, University of the Philippines
LOURDES MONTENEGRO
University of San Carlos
Policing pollution control in Central Visayas,
Philippines
13
45th Annual Meeting M. Monetary reforms 2
14 November 2007 Organizer
FRANCIS DAKILA
Panelists
ELOISE GLINDRO
Are Asian housing prices too high for comfort?
HAYDEE RAMON
Forecasting the volatility of Philippine inflation
using GARCH models
JADE ERIC REDOBLADO

Policy considerations in the light of oil price
volatility
N. Student papers
Organizer
MARK ALVIN BAQUIRAN
San Beda College
Panelists
RONALDO ICO
Catastrophic health care, poverty and
impoverishment in the Philippines
MIGUEL ROBERTO BORROMEO

JESUS CARLOS CASTILLO
ELEAZAR LOPEZ JR.
Selected demographic variables affecting the
educational attainment of children in the
Philippines
Discussant
ALITA ROXAS
Mindanao State University
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Day 2. Thursday, 15 November 45th Annual Meeting
15 November 2007
FERNANDO ALDABA

• Pushing Philippine manufacturing
towards sustained growth
Moderator
ARTURO CORPUZ
Ayala Land, Inc.
Panelists
PONCIANO INTAL
Angelo King Institute, De La Salle University
NORBERTO VIERA
Texas Instruments
MA. FLORDELIS AGUENZA

Planters Development Bank
Financing SMEs in the manufacturing sector

• Poverty, population, and
the labor market
Moderator
LEONARDO LANZONA
Panelists
ERNESTO PERNIA
Population as public interest
HYUN SON
Analysis on poverty, equity and labor market in
the Philippines
15
45th Annual Meeting RANA HASAN
15 November 2007 KARL JANDOC
Occupational dynamics and workers’ welfare:
The Philippines before and after the Asian
financial crisis
12:OO NN LUNCH
Hosted by
President’s Report
MICHAEL ALBA
President, Philippine Economic Society
02:00 PM NOBEL LAUREATE TALK

• Economic development by fitting
globalization into the national
development strategy
ROBERT MUNDELL
Columbia University
Sponsored by
“Bridges – Dialogues towards a culture of Peace”
Program of the International Peace foundation
Hosted by
De La Salle University with the
Mapua Institute of Technology
Venue
Teresa Yuchengco Tower
7F Yuchengco Building
DLSU Campus, Taft Avenue, Manila
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Day 3. Friday, 16 November 45th Annual Meeting
16 November 2007
WINFRED VILLAMIL
De La Salle Universityv

• Labor and migration development
Moderator
ANICETO ORBETA JR.
Panelists
MANOLO ABELLA
International Labor Organization
Migration and development: Still an unsettled
relationship
RAUL DELGADO-WISE
Zacatecas University
MICHAEL ALBA
FABIO BAGGIO
Scalabrini Migration Center
Factoring in the social dimensions of
international labor migration: The Philippine
experience

• Fearless forecast for 2008:
The take-off?
Moderator
MYRNA AUSTRIA
Panelists
JAMES MCCORMACK
Asian Sovereign Ratings
17
45th Annual Meeting SIN BENG ONG
JP Morgan
16 November 2007
CIELITO HABITO
Growing at 7.5 percent: Too good to be true,
too good to last?
VICTOR ABOLA
12:OO NN LUNCH
Hosted by
The Asia Foundation
• Announcement of the results
of the PES election
• Closing Remarks
FERNANDO ALDABA
Chairman, Organizing Committee
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Abstracts and
Curriculum Vitae
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Abstracts & KEYNOTE SPEECH
Curriculum Vitae Achieving broad-based development
SENEN C. BACANI
Senen C. Bacani was awarded the SGV Ernest & Young Enterpreneur
of the Year in 2006, for his achievements as chairman and president of La
Frutera, Inc.
Mr. Bacani graduated summa cum laude from De La Salle University,
with a degree in commerce. After finishing his MBA from the University of
Hawaii East West Center, he joined Dole Food Co., where he rose to become
country manager in Costa Rica and in the Philippines.
Mr. Bacani served as secretary of agriculture under President Corazon
Aquino. In 1993, he established Ultrex Management & Investments Corp.
which, in 1996, partnered with Chiquita Unifrutti to form La Frutera, Inc.,
a 1,000-hectare banana plantation in the Autonomous Region of Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM).
• • • • •
20
PLENARY SESSION 1 Abstracts &
Sustaining economic growth in the long run Curriculum Vitae
Constraints to long-run growth in the Philippines

DANTE CANLAS
Using a growth decomposition framework based on a Cobb-Douglas

production function that shows constant returns to scale, it is seen that
much of the growth in real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in
the Philippines is due to an increase in the capital-labor ratio, and hardly
any from technological progress. Such growth is not sustainable. It helps
explain why Thailand overtook the Philippines in real per capita GDP
level in the early 1980s. At the Philippines’ current per capita growth rate,
it stands no chance of catching up with the middle-income countries in
Southeast Asia and the newly industrializing economies in East Asia.
Dante B. Canlas is a professor of economics at the School of Economics,

University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. He obtained his B.S.
(Mathematics) in 1967 and his Ph.D. (Economics) in 1978, both at the
University of the Philippines.
He has held visiting appointments at Princeton University (New Jersey),
Institute of Developing Economies (Tokyo), and Northern Illinois University
(De Kalb).
Dr. Canlas served in the national government as Deputy Director-
General at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
from 1992-98 and NEDA Director-General, concurrently Secretary of Socio-
Economic Planning from 2001-2002. He also served as Executive Director of
the Asian Development Bank from 2003-2004.
He has written more than 70 articles in macroeconomics, labor, and
money.
• • • • •
21
Abstracts & JONG-WHA LEE
Curriculum Vitae
We assess East Asia’s growth experience in a broad historical and
international context. East Asian countries grow faster than the rest of
the world for the last four decades. The growth performance can largely
be attributed to the strong fundamental growth factors such as investment
rate, human resources, fertility, institutional quality, macroeconomic
stability, and the degree of trade openness. We extend the discussion
on growth determinants to the role of balance of payment crisis, income
distribution and the quality of education.
Jong-Wha Lee is the Head of the Asian Development Bank’s Office of

Regional Economic Integration (OREI), assuming office in March 2007.
Dr. Lee has over 20 years of professional experience as an economist
and an academic. He worked as Economist at the International Monetary
Fund and taught at Harvard University as a Visiting Professor. He had
served as a consultant to the Asian Development Bank, the Harvard
Institute for International Development, the Inter-American Development,
the International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations Development
Programme, and the World Bank. He also served as a member of the National
Economic Advisory Council for the President of the Republic of Korea.
Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Lee was the Director of the
International Center for Korean Studies and a Professor of Economics at
Korea University. He has published numerous books and reviewed journal
articles in English and Korean, especially on topics relating to human capital,
growth, financial crisis, and economic integration.
Dr. Lee, a national of the Republic of Korea, obtained his Ph.D. and
Master’s degree in economics from Harvard University, and his Master’s and
Bachelor’s degrees in economics from Korea University in Seoul.
• • • • •
22
PARALLEL PANEL A Abstracts &
Trade: Regional & economic integration Curriculum Vitae
On the relevance of export-led growth in the Philippines

EDSEL BEJA, JR.
The history of development may be summarized into four stylized

facts, called Kaldor Laws: 1) the manufacturing sector is the engine of
economic growth; 2) increasing returns exists in the manufacturing sector;
3) manufacturing sector growth absorbs the surplus labor in the non-
manufacturing sector, increasing the productivity in the latter; and 4) as
the economy matures, the external sector becomes the ultimate constraint
to long-term economic growth. Following this Kaldorian logic, the paper
presents an analysis on the first and fourth Kaldor Laws to explain why
export-led growth remains an important strategy in the realization of the
long-desired robust economic growth in the Philippines.
Edsel Beja, Jr. is deputy director of the Ateneo Center for Research and
Development. He is also an assistant professor in the economics department
and a research fellow at the Institute of Philippine Culture of the Ateneo de
Manila University.
Dr. Beja completed his PhD in economics at the University of
Massachusetts Amherst, and his master of philosophy degree in geography from
the University of Cambridge. He finished his MA as well as BA in economics
at the Ateneo de Manila University.
Dr. Beja’s project “Never Again to a Crisis: The Costs of the 1997
Asian Financial Crisis” was recognized with the IPC (Institute of Philippine
Culture) Merit Research Award for 2007-2008, while his project “The
Philippines on Debt Row” is the Loyola Schools Faculty Research grantee for
2007-2008.
• • • • •
23
Abstracts & ELIZABETH TAN
Curriculum Vitae
FTAs have been proliferating in Asia since the late 90s and show no
sign of abating. Asia, in particular East Asia must harness the strong
regional sentiments and harness it into a potential regional trade block.
The ASEAN+ 3 model should ideally serve as the starting point because
of existing linkages in the real and monetary sectors. Nevertheless, what
has taken off are the ASEAN +1 Initiatives, each moving at different
speed and covering wide and varied areas of liberalizaton. What are
their common characteristics and differences? Can these initiatives
complement the multilateral process of liberalization?
Elizabeth Tan is currently a lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University.

She holds an MA in economics from the University of the Philippines, and has
an AB in economics magna cum laude, from the University of San Carlos in
Cebu. She also attended the annual program in world banking and finance
at the Economics Institute, Boulder, Colorado.
Ms. Tan has held various positions with the Asian Development Bank,
the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, and other institutions. Her
work experiences include the Philippines, the People’s Republic of China,
Korea, Vietnam, and the central Asian republics.
• • • • •
GLORIA PASADILLA
Gloria Pasadilla is a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute
for Development Studies, as well as an APEC convenor with the group on
subservices forum and lead negotiator for services in the ASEAN-ANZ FTA
negotiations.
Her areas of interest include international trade, financial services
and international legal framework, regional integration, political economy,
international macroeconomics, banking, and insolvency.
Dr. Pasadilla obtained her Ph.D. (Economics) at New York University.
She also holds a Master of International Law and Economics (summa cum
laude) from the World Trade Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland,
and an M.S. (Industrial Economics) from the Center for Research and
Communication. Her B.S. degree is in Mathematics, from the University
of the Philippines.
• • • • •
24
PARALLEL PANEL B Abstracts &
Economics Education Curriculum Vitae
Grade inflation: Fact or myth?

AMELIA BELLO
RODGER VALIENTES
Real grade inflation is the upward shift in students’ grades without a

similar rise in achievement (Kohn, 2002; Rosovsky and Hartley, 2002).
It means that the same work that was given a 2.0 in the past is getting, for
example, a 1.5 today. The term implies a decline in grade standards and
obscures the role of grades as a signal for students’ academic ability.
In the debate about grade inflation, discussion about the purpose
of grading is absent. Guskey (2003) believes that resolving the problem
depends on clarifying the purpose and meaning of grades. Two different
views of grading are proposed, each one leading to different approaches
to instruction and grading policies. Grades may be either used to
discriminate among students and identify differences in performance or
grades may be thought of as reflecting the degree to which students have
learned. The first leads to some way to rank the students and the assigning
of grades according to each student’s relative standing. The second argues
that education is a purposeful activity in which teachers exert their best
to have students learn. In this case, teachers need to clarify the learning
criteria and the goal becomes to nurture talent and not to discriminate
and sort.
The research attempts to empirically validate the presence of grade
inflation in economics courses offered by the Department of Economics,
University of the Philippines Los Baños. Using grades from 1986-2005,
an upward trend is seen in 10 out of 18 courses offered. However, the
source of this uptrend could not be pinpointed. Further studies relating
admission requirements, curricular changes and teaching evaluation/
faculty complement as well as the mechanics of grading to the actual
grades must be conducted. Only then can a more definitive conclusion of
whether real grade inflation exists or not can be made.
• • • • •
25
Abstracts & A review of tertiary economics education in selected
Curriculum Vitae higher education institutions in the Philippines
CHRISBELLE DIMAPILIS
Studies on Tertiary Economics Education in the Philippines are still

in its infancy stage. The database as well as measures of assessing the inputs
and outputs of Economics Education are not yet established. This study
is an attempt to start reviewing what the state of Economics Education is,
starting initially with five selected Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
The five HEIs are the University of the Philippines Los Baños and the
University of the Philippnes Diliman for the public HEIs, and Ateneo
de Manila University, De La Salle University and Colegio de Los Baños
for the private HEIs. The Economics curriculum of San Beda College
was included in the study but only in the analysis of the curriculum.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) standard Economics
curriculum was used as the benchmark for comparison.
The study is highly exploratory and descriptive. The study looked at
the following as the inputs to Economics Education: curriculum, facilities,
faculty composition, average class size, and textbooks used; while the
measures of output were the average number of enrollees, average number
of graduates, mean weighted average of students, and number of honor
graduates.
Not all HEIs complied with the CHED standards of required
Economics subjects. However, all the HEIs have the facilities to aid them
in teaching. The average class size was 40 students. All the prescribed
textbooks were acquired by four of the HEIs. The faculty composition
was 50% PhD and MA/MS holders. Data on output could not be
assessed accurately inasmuch as the only available information was
number of enrollees and graduates, and mean grade and percentage of
honor graduates. Due to differences in the nature of the data, a direct
comparison of these outputs could not be carried out.
• • • • •
26
PARALLEL PANEL C Abstracts &
Environment: Economics of mining Curriculum Vitae
Mining investments in the Philippines: Strategic issues

ROLANDO PENA
Consultant, Lepanto Mines
After almost 10 years since the passage of the 1995 Philippine

Mining Act, the mineral industry in the Philippines had yet to take off.
To demonstrate support by the national government in promoting the
mining industry, Executive Order 270 was issued in January 2004 entitled
“National Policy Agenda on Revitalizing Mining in the Philippines.”
Since the issuance of this policy document, global demand for
strategic and valuable metals perked up, giving an unprecedented boost
to the value of production of the existing mines in the Philippines. In the
wake of high metal prices, foreign and local investors expressed renewed
interest in mining in the Philippines. Although the Philippine is imbued
with rich mineral resources, these are finite resources that can only
accommodate so much investors. For all the “attractions” dangled before
investors, the government is hard put in accommodating them.
Although the value of metallic production showed a hefty increase
in 2006 compared to the previous years, this was mostly the result of
increased prices of metals and not to development and production of new
mines. New investments in the metallic mineral industry are drawn to
four major products: gold, copper, chromite and nickel. As of the end of
last year, there were only 18 operating metallic mines, compared to 17 in
the previous year (there were 14 in 2003). There are only two FTAAs that
were approved by the government in 1994. As of the end of 2006, there
were only 209 approved MPSAs, compared to 164 in 2002. Of these 65
were cancelled by DENR for remaining idle. On the other hand there were
1,318 MPSA applications being processed in 2006, compared to 1,529 in
2002. In the case of Exploration Permits, there were 33 approved permits
as of 2006, compared to 720 applications being processed in 2006.
In view of these developments, what the mineral industry needs is a
more rational strategic approach. This would include, but not limited to,
the following for consideration:
• Industrialization promotion through value-adding in the mineral
industry
• Cleansing of idle tenements
• Addition of new category of medium scale mining as an upgrade
from small scale mining that would allow the use of equipment and
explosives
• • • • •
27
Abstracts & Cost-benefit case study of mining in Benguet communities
Curriculum Vitae ART BOQUIREN
The paper examines whether mining communities in Benguet

are better off or inferior compared to non-mining communities. The
conclusion on the matter based on latest available data (2006) is that
mining communities are inferior. Data even suggest that mining
communities are laggards in development. The paper for PES will use
the latest available data and see if the conclusions are robust or consistent
over time.
• • • • •
PARALLEL PANEL D
Competitiveness and productivity
Firm-level determinants of export performance: Evidence
from the Philippines
TERESA DUENAS-CAPARAS
The paper determines the factors affecting the export performance of

firms in three main manufacturing sectors in the Philippines. Specifically,
firm-level characteristics such as firm size, firm age and foreign affiliation
are identified and statistically tested to determine whether or not it affects
a firm’s capability to export. The study uses a novel econometric model
which specifically addresses fractional response behavior and estimates said
model using a modified quasi-maximum likelihood procedure. Among
the firm-level characteristics tested, foreign affiliation has the most
prominent influence on a firm’s propensity to export in the Philippines.
Teresa Duenas-Caparas works for the International Affairs Group of

the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Her research areas include the economics
of technology and technological change, trade and technology, and macro-
economics.
Ms. Caparas is currently working on her doctoral dissertation for her
PhD in economics from the United Nations University in Maastricht, the
Netherlands. She holds a diploma in advanced international trade from the
Kiel Institute of World Economics, Germany. Her masters in economics as
well as her BS in business economics were earned at the University of the
Philippines in Diliman.
• • • • •
28
Profit and cost efficiency of Philippine commercial banks Abstracts &
under periods of liberalization, crisis and consolidation Curriculum Vitae
SANTOS JOSE DACANAY III
This paper examines the profit and cost efficiency of commercial

banks in the Philippines from 1992-2004—covering periods of financial
liberalization, crisis and consolidation. Two-stage procedure is employed.
The first method involves the estimation of profit and cost efficiency
using the stochastic frontier approach. Results indicate that profit
efficiency slowly decreased from a mean score of 92% in 1992 to 84% in
2004 while cost inefficiency hovers around 11% to 12% from 1992 to
1998, and then jumps to 14% to 15% from 1998 to 2004. Efficiencies
are found to be inversely related to asset size. Off-balance sheet services
are found to be cost-absorbing, and substitute for traditional banking
products. Elasticities of the prices of labor and deposits are found to be
negative, providing evidence for the use of more and low-cost labor and
the abundance of deposits as cheap source of funds. In the second stage,
regression shows profit efficiency scores of universal banks are significantly
higher than plain commercial banks, suggesting scope economies from
expanded and equity investment activities of universal banks. Foreign
banks are more cost inefficient due to higher personnel cost. Modest
improvement in bank efficiency after liberalization in 1994 is registered
but cost inefficiency increased in the aftermath of the Asian financial
crisis. Acquired banks in mergers are not necessarily inefficient, and the
weighted efficiency scores of the acquired and surviving banks before the
merger have not improved three years after the merger, suggesting that
synergy gains need a longer time to be realized.
Santos Jose Dacanay III is an assistant professor of management at the

Institute of Management, University of the Philippines-Baguio.
Dr. Dacanay has a PhD in business administration and a diploma in
urban and regional planning from the University of the Philippines. He
finished his MBA at St. Louis College, and obtained his BS in business
administration from the University of the Philippines.
• • • • •
29
Abstracts & The changing face of competition
Curriculum Vitae NICETO POBLADOR
Kalayaan College
This paper looks closely at the concept of competition in the context of

today’s information-driven business environment. After briefly discussing
the place of competition in economic theory and in traditional corporate
strategy, the paper argues that in a world of relentless and unpredictable
change, competitive advantage has become increasingly unsustainable. In
such a complex and uncertain world, competing for market dominance
no longer makes sense, and that the better strategy is for firms to position
themselves in markets that are yet evolving. It contends that such a
strategy requires continuous innovation in products and processes, and
that the ability to adapt to continuously evolving markets depends less
on “core competencies” than on the creative management of extended
value networks. Implications on anti-trust policy and on the treatment of
Intellectual Property Rights will be explored.
Niceto Poblador holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania

and obtained his M.A. from the University of Chicago. He spent most of his
academic life at the University of the Philippines, with teaching stints at the
National University of Singapore and the City University of Hong Kong.
Among his recent publications are “The Economics of the Firm:
Managerial Applications, and Strategy Demythicized: Why Today’s Business
Models Fail to Deliver.” He is currently editing a forthcoming publication of
the Management Association of the Philippines entitled “Strong Vision, Bold
Decisions: Responding to Emergent Global Challenges.” He lectures, writes
and consults on the economics of strategy and on Knowledge Management.
• • • • •
30
PARALLEL PANEL G Abstracts &
Monetary Reforms 1 Curriculum Vitae
Identifying the determinants of overseas Filipinos’

remittances: Which exchange rate is most relevant
FRANCIS DAKILA, JR.
RACQUEL CLAVERIA
The study considers which exchange rate measure is the most relevant
determinant of overseas Filipinos (OF) remittances. The study employs
a microeconomic framework (involving a utility maximizing household)
to help form the basis for selection of variables to be included in the
estimations. Different versions of the vector autoregressions (VARs), which
vary by the particular exchange rate measure utilized, were estimated to
quantify the impacts of the major influences on OF remittances. An OF
deployment-based effective exchange rate index was constructed in the
study which proved to be a significant predictor of the movement of OF
remittances. Moreover, an incidental but significant finding of the study
is the procyclical nature of OF remittances.
• • • • •
Adjustments in the face of peso volatility:

Perspectives from the past and policy directions
AGNES YAP
CRISTETA BAGSIC
This paper examines the volatility of economy-wide and industry-

specific peso exchange rates since 1998, and assesses the impact of such
volatility on the profitability of a sample of listed Philippine banks and
corporate firms. Our regression results provide evidence that volatility in
foreign exchange rates affect the profitability of firms. Furthermore, there
are gains in explanatory power when industry exchange rates are used
instead of aggregate exchange rates as an explanatory variable for stock price
return. Our results also show that the operations and risk management
systems in place in different firms are sufficiently heterogeneous to the
extent that the impact of foreign exchange volatilities in their profitability
differs across sectors and even among firms within a sector. These results
suggest that there is no one-size-fits-all foreign exchange policy, and a firm
or a sector might be negatively affected by foreign exchange developments
even as other sectors of the economy benefit. This implies that initiatives
from policymakers that encourage the development of risk management
mechanisms become necessary conjugates to policies aimed at making the
foreign exchange market more efficient.
• • • • •
31
Abstracts & PARALLEL PANEL H
Curriculum Vitae Health
Information, incentives and practice patterns:

The case of TB DOTS services and private physicians
in the Philippines
ALELI KRAFT
JOSEPH CAPUNO
STELLA QUIMBO
CARLOS ANTONIO TAN, JR.

To explain divergent physician practices, studies focus on either

differences in education and training or financial incentives. The policy
challenge is to identify the most cost-effective interventions to encourage
adherence to practice guidelines. Utilizing private physician data in major
cities in the Philippines, we show the effects of training and financial
incentives in physician adoption of the TB DOTS protocol. Training
seems to be more important when the new protocol is a significant
departure from the old know-how, while financial incentives seem to
work better on those who are already clinically competent. These imply
that uniform application of information-based and incentive-based
interventions may not be cost-effective.
• • • • •
32
How will expanded insurance benefits and quality Abstracts &
improvements change patient behavior? Curriculum Vitae
Presentor
JHIEDON FLORENTINO
Co-Authors
ORVILLE SOLON
STELLA QUIMBO
RITI SHIMKADA
University of California at San Francisco
JOHN PEABODY
University of California at San Francisco
This paper examines the impact of two hospital-based interventions

on patient behavior, particularly, insurance-related behavior. These
interventions were implemented by the Quality Improvement
Demonstration Study (QIDS) in selected public hospitals in ten
provinces in the Visayas and the Camiguin province in Mindanao. One
intervention (“Intervention A”) increases PhilHealth support to 100%
(or reduces out-of-pocket payments to zero) for children under 5 years
old. The other intervention (“Intervention B”) is a quality bonus scheme
for hospital staff, where PhilHealth payments are increased if hospitals
are found to have met pre-set quality standards. The interventions were
randomly assigned to the sites using a matched block design. Baseline data
collection was conducted in 2003, which was followed by 7 rounds of data
collection to monitor the progress and outcomes of the intervention.
Using our data from patient exit interviews, we use logistic analysis to
examine patterns of insurance coverage and utilization across intervention
sites and time periods. We specifically ask whether in the intervention
sites (i) the proportion of insured patients increased, (ii) the proportion
of insured patients utilizing insurance benefits increased, and (iii) the
insurance support values increased.
Our preliminary analysis indicates that the proportion of insured
patients increased in Intervention A sites, presumably through the
increased enrollment efforts and because of the increased attractiveness
of PhilHealth benefits from having zero co-payments. Our results also
indicate that the proportion of patients utilizing PhilHealth benefits
likewise increased in Intervention B sites. It appears that patients are able
to discern improved quality in facilities and if given insurance coverage,
will likely utilize insurance benefits.
• • • • •
33
Abstracts & PARALLEL PANEL I
Curriculum Vitae Financial markets development
A stakeholder analysis on the initiative to harmonize/

integrate regulatory functions of the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas, Securities & Exchange Commission, and the
Insurance Commission
KAREN TECSON
This study assesses the feasibility of establishing a single supervisory

body for the Philippine financial system. Discussions with four groups
of stakeholders, namely consumers of financial services, financial
services providers, financial regulatory agencies and key policy-making
government agencies, reveal varied degrees of receptiveness but no outright
opposition to the proposal. The study discusses stakeholders’ arguments
for and apprehensions about regulatory integration. Researchers propose
as a path toward integration coordinating amendments to charters of
financial regulatory agencies; and formalizing the Financial Sector Forum
and including in it the Cooperative Development Authority. Finally,
researchers point out the need to establish an organization aimed at
safeguarding the interests of consumers of financial services, and helping
form financial sector reform agenda.
• • • • •
34
PARALLEL PANEL J Abstracts &
Energy Curriculum Vitae
ANNA WHITEHOUSE
Total Philippines Corp
Anna Whitehouse was appointed to the Philippines in July 2004

with TOTAL, where she initially held the position of Vice President, Retail
Operations before being nominated as President & Managing Director in
December 2005. Including this period, she has spent 22 years in the oil
industry having held various senior key positions in Lubricants and other
Specialty Divisions in Total-UK and Total-South East Asia in Singapore, and
previously with Exxon-UK.
She graduated with Honours, B.S. Chemical Engineering from the
University College of Dublin, Ireland.
She is married with three children.
• • • • •
35
Abstracts & Bioenergy from a syatem level perspective
Curriculum Vitae RAYMOND TAN
Global interest has in biofuels and bioenergy has been stimulated

by the escalation of petroleum prices as well as the increased public
awareness about climate change. In the Philippines, part of the
response has been to legislate the use of liquid biofuels meant to displace
petroleum-derived products such as gasoline and diesel fuel. Under this
legislation, ethanol derived from starch- or sugar-bearing crops is to be
blended with gasoline, while fatty acid methyl esters, otherwise known as
biodiesel, is to be mixed with conventional diesel fuel. This response is
an appropriate step in the right direction, as it introduces much-needed
diversity into a sector which has traditionally been overly dependent on
imported oil. Nevertheless, it is important to realize that transitions in
energy use patterns will not be completely painless. This talk provides an
overview of many technical issues, particularly those related to feedstock
supply limitations brought about by thermodynamic considerations of
the fuel life cycles.
Raymond R. Tan is an associate professor of the Chemical Engineering

Department and research scientist at the Center for Engineering and
Sustainable Development Research of De La Salle University-Manila. He
has been doing research on the analysis and modeling of energy systems since
the late 1990s, and his work has appeared in such publications as Energy,
International Journal of Energy Research, Biomass & Bioenergy and Clean
Technologies & Environmental Policy, among others. He has also consulted
for industry, government agencies and non-government organizations on
issues requiring his expertise in life cycle analysis.
Dr. Tan has an M.S. in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. in
Mechanical Engineering, both from De La Salle University-Manila. He is
also the recipient of multiple awards from the National Academy of Science
and Technology, and has worked on low-carbon energy systems as a visiting
researcher at the University of Portsmouth in the UK, and the International
Flame Research Foundation in The Netherlands.
• • • • •
36
PARALLEL PANEL K Abstracts &
Urban and land issues Curriculum Vitae
Land Administration and Management Issues:

Implications on CARP
MARIFE BALLESTEROS
The CARP accomplishments on land distribution have been

significant. It has distributed more than two-thirds of total farm
area and provided land ownership rights to more than 2 million farm
workers. However, there have been no appreciable effects on poverty,
productivity, investments in the agriculture sector. Why? Government
has not provided the needed institutional framework for it to succeed.
A critical institution in any land reform program is land administration
and management (LAM). Weak LAM has resulted in the following: (1)
land redistribution has been poorly targeted; (2) evasion tactics have
been pervasive; (3) many of the distributed ownership rights remained
unperfected; (4) land valuation or just compensation provision of the law
has been exploited; (5) weakened property rights on agriculture land.
Marife Ballesteros is a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute

for Development Studies. She has extensive research experience in housing,
land markets and urban development, and has served as technical adviser/
resource person to Philippine legislative sessions and local governments.
She has also consulted with foreign agencies as a housing finance and land
economist.
Dr. Ballesteros has a Ph.D. (development economics) from the Nijmegen
University in the Netherlands. She earned her M.A. (economics) from the
University of the Philippines and her B.S. (agricultural economics) from the
University of the Philippines-Los Banos.
• • • • •
37
Abstracts & A Primer on Land Administration in the Philippines
Curriculum Vitae and the Mango Avenue Project
PATRICK GERARD SIMON-KING
The report discusses the importance of proper land administration to

economic development in the Philippines. It outlines the prevailing land
administration and land titling processes and shows how these can lead
to a number of issues such as coordination failures, unreliability of land
records, and high transactions costs involved in obtaining and transferring
land titles.
The report also highlights the efforts of the Ateneo Center for Economic
Research and Development (ACERD) in addressing some of these issues.
In particular, the report will focus on the Mango Avenue Project, a project
that aims to create a prototype for a digital database registry for land titles.
A discussion on project details and the implementation plan will be given.
This project is an undertaking involving the ACERD, the Cebu City local
government and the Cebu City Registry of Deeds.
Patrick Gerard Simon-King is a lecturer at the economics department

of the Ateneo de Manila University, and is also the project manager of the
ACERD Land Management and Property Rights Project.
Mr. Simon-King completed his M.A. and B.A. in economics at the
Ateneo de Manila University.
• • • • •
38
PARALLEL PANEL L Abstracts &
Regulation and development Curriculum Vitae
Policing pollution control in Central Visayas, Philippines

LOURDES O. MONTENEGRO
University of San Carlos
Growing concern in the Philippines over declining environmental

quality has led to the legislation of more comprehensive and more
market-based pollution control regulations. However, the efficacy of
these regulations rest not only with their design and but also with their
implementation. In this paper, we examine these implementation issues
and report initial results from an analysis of the impact of regulatory
actions on environmental compliance choices of water pollution sources
in Central Visayas, Philippines. In particular, we investigate the effect of
inspections and enforcement on self-reported biological oxygen demand
(BOD) concentrations using a facility-level panel dataset of all major
point sources of water pollution in Central Visayas, Philippines for the
years 1993-2006. We find that the increased probability of inspection
and legal enforcement did not significantly reduce BOD concentrations;
in contrast, higher compliance cost had a significant and positive
influence on BOD concentrations. This may suggest that programs that
aim to lower compliance costs may be more effective in bringing about
lower pollution discharges compared to traditional inspection and legal
enforcement actions.
• • • • •
39
Abstracts & PARALLEL PANEL M
Curriculum Vitae Monetary reforms 2
Are Asian housing prices too high for comfort?

ELOISA GLINDRO
Co-Authors
TIENTIP SUBJANIJ
Bank of Thailand
HAIBIN ZHU
Bank for International Settlements
JESSICA SWETO
Hongkong Monetary Authority
This paper examines the determinants of housing prices, discusses

the role of distinctive institutional arrangements and explores the
possible emergence of housing bubbles in 10 Asia-Pacific economies.
More importantly, the paper looks into the characteristics of house price
cycles since the mid-1990s, when many when many market-oriented
reforms in the real estate sector were introduced in this region. It
provides evidence of serial correlation and mean reversion embedded
in the short-term dynamics of house prices in each country. The
paper also extends existing literature by distinguishing between house
price overvaluation and house bubbles. House price overvaluation is
characterized by two components, namely the (i) intrinsic house price
cycles and (ii) residual component or true “bubble.” Overvaluation
characterized by intrinsic house price cycles means that house prices
can rise above their fundamental value due to inherent stickiness in the
housing market. The residual component that can not be explained by
serial correlation and mean reversion of house price dynamics is most
likely driven by overly optimistic expectation of future house price
movements.
Not surprisingly, the patterns of national housing price dynamics
exhibit significant cross-country heterogeneity, which can be attributable
to the different stage of economic development, different institutional
arrangements and market-specific conditions. The results of long-term
fundamentals and short-term dynamics of housing prices indicate that
the current run-up in house prices mainly reflects adjustment to more
robust fundamentals rather than an indicator of speculative housing
bubbles. None of the countries/cities/market segments studied falls in
the explosive region. At the national level, most of the countries exhibit
convergence although at slower pace.
Since the results are largely a function of the estimation period, the
finding of relatively benign housing market should be taken with great
care as there would always be new sources of volatility as markets develop.
To mitigate house price overvaluation driven by intrinsic price cycles,
the policymaker should probably adopt measures aimed at reducing the
magnitude and frequency of intrinsic property cycles, such as improving
land use regulation and enhancing property right protection. Information
is critical as markets develop, hence, improvement in the data capture,
40
credit rating and risk assessment is likewise imperative. To address
the bubble issue, the policymaker may adopt measures that control Abstracts &
unwarranted high expectation of capital gains in the housing market. Curriculum Vitae
Eloisa T. Glindro has an M.A. (economics) from the U.P. School of

Economics and a B.S. (economics) from the University of the Philippines-
Los Banos. She is currently with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Center for
Monetary and Financial Policy. She recently completed a stint as research fellow
at the Asian Research Programme of the Bank for International Settlements
Office for Asia and the Pacific, where she participated in a research project
on Asian house price dynamics. She also worked at the National Economic
Development Authority’s (NEDA) National Planning and Policy Staff.
• • • • •
Forecasting the volatility of Philippine inflation

using GARCH models
HAYDEE RAMON
The study highlights the statistical procedure employed in

developing a short-term forecasting model that explores the volatility
feature of Philippine inflation from years 1995 up to 2007. To build
such a model, we specify first the Autoregressive Moving Average
(ARMA) model then include the Seasonal ARMA (SARMA) model if
seasonality is present, to represent the mean component using the past
values of inflation. Next, we incorporate the Generalized Autoregressive
Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model to represent its
volatility. Diagnostic tests indicate that the specifications D(IR) (the first
difference of month-on-month inflation) as the stationary series, AR(1)
and SMA(12) for the mean, GARCH(0,1) or ARCH (1) for the variance
with Student’s t distribution having fixed degrees of freedom v = 10 for
the errors, performs best in forecasting the volatility of the inflation rate
for the Philippines.
Haydee Lopez Ramon received her B.S. degree in Mathematics,

major in Actuarial Science and Statistics, from De La Salle University in
October 2001. Her undergraduate thesis entitled, “Obtaining Unit-Distance
Graphs by Subdivision of Edges” was awarded a gold medal for outstanding
thesis recognition, with Severino V. Gervacio, Ph.D. as thesis adviser and
Michele G. Tan as thesis partner. Following a B.S. in DLSU, she earned an
M.S. degree in Applied Mathematics major in Actuarial Science from the
University of the Philippines in April 2006.
Currently, Ms. Ramon is designated as acting bank officer III of the
Economic and Financial Forecasting Group (EFFG) of the Department of
Economic Research. EFFG is tasked with the generation of forecasts and
simulation exercises for various economic and financial variables in support
of monetary policy formulation. Ms. Ramon is currently handling the
maintenance of inflation forecasting models such as the BSP multi-equation
model and GARCH model for forecasting inflation volatility.
• • • • •
41
Abstracts & Policy considerations in the light of oil price volatility
Curriculum Vitae JADE ERIC REDOBLADO
The paper attempts to characterize the policy environment in the

context of oil price volatility. An SVAR model is estimated to determine
the impact of oil price volatility on output and inflation as well as to
evaluate the effect of monetary policy intervention. It is shown that
the magnitude of an oil shock matters less than oil price volatility in
determining the behavior of output and inflation. Modeling is also
benefited by incorporating policy shifts. Similar results are also observed
when estimating asymmetric effects on output and inflation from an oil
shock. Impulse response functions indicate greater persistence for a policy
shock as compared to an oil shock.
• • • • •
42
PARALLEL PANEL N Abstracts &
Student papers Curriculum Vitae
Catastrophic health care, poverty and

impoverishment in the Philippines
RONALDO ICO
The paper attempts to describe catastrophic health spending and its

impact to poverty in the Philippine setting. It focuses on the role of
out-of-pocket payments for health care as a springboard in the analysis
of measuring the magnitude and analyzing the extent of damage of
catastrophic health expenditures. It also explores the scope and trends of
these spending by different socioeconomic indicators such as household
headship, agricultural indicator and regional group. More importantly,
it delves into trends over time and among different income groups. It
also employs several quantifiable measures and tools in determining
the extent of “catastrophic” incidence and intensity to determine the
effects on poverty. Lastly it looks into the state of impoverishment after
incurring these payments. The results indicate that in general households
belonging to higher income groups are more vulnerable to catastrophic
health spending and households belonging to lower income groups are
more prone to impoverishment.
• • • • •
43
Abstracts & Selected demographic variables affecting the educational
Curriculum Vitae attainment of children in the Philippines
MIGUEL ROBERTO BORROMEO
JESUS CARLOS EXEQUIEL CASTILLO
ELEAZAR LOPEZ, JR.
This paper examines the determinants of educational attainment of

children in the Philippines. The study uses merged data sets from the
nationally-representatives 2003 Labor Force and Family Income and
Expenditure Survey. The highest grade attained of children aged 13-22,
17-22, and 21-22 for primary schooling, secondary schooling, and tertiary
schooling, respectively are examined using ordered probit models that are
buttnessed by a diverse conceptual framework. Schooling attainment of
males and females are also examined separately so as to shed light on the
potential disparity between the education levels between sexes. Education
results show that parental attainment of children, and mother’s education
has stronger effect compared with father’s education while an increase in
permanent income of household is not alwaays associated with increased
attainment, household still face severe resource constraint.
• • • • •
44
Pushing Philippine manufacturing towards Curriculum Vitae
sustained growth
NORBERTO VIERA
Texas Instruments
Norberto Viera is President and Managing Director of Texas

Instruments’ Philippines operations, and manages a group of 2500 employees
at TI’s Assembly and Test facility in Baguio City.
Having earned a Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications,
Mr. Viera began his career at TI as a product engineer in 1979. He soon took
on supervisory and management responsibilities and was named President
and Managing Director of TI’s Philippine operations in 1996.
An active member of the community and past president of the
Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines (SEIPI), he is the
recipient of numerous awards and citations including;
• Centennial Award, Total Thomasian Award for Science and
Technology, and Hall of Fame Award (Field of Engineering) from the
University of Santo Tomas
• Medal of Honor Award from the Angeles University Foundation
• Partner of the Industry Award from SEIPI
• Doctor of Humanities from the University of Baguio
A native of Ajuy, Iloilo, Mr. Viera and his wife have 4 children and
reside in Baguio City.
Texas Instruments, based in Dallas, Texas, is the world's largest supplier
of Mixed Signal and Analog Integrated Circuit Products.
• • • • •
45
Abstracts & Financing SMEs in the manufacturing sector
Curriculum Vitae MA. FLORDELIS AGUENZA
Planters Development Bank
The presentation will essentially discuss Plantersbank experience in

financing SMEs in the manufacturing sector, covering the following areas
of interest:
ß The bank’s historical exposure to the manufacturing sector
ß The profile of manufacturing SMEs that it has financed
ß Lessons learned from financing SMEs in the manufacturing sector
ß Issues and concerns affecting manufacturing SMEs
ß Policy recommendations to improve performance of manufacturing
SMEs and the manufacturing sector in general
As the Bank for SMEs, Plantersbank’s experience can hopefully bring
out relevant policy and business issues in promoting manufacturing SMEs
for consideration by both the public and private sectors.
Maria Flordelis F. Aguenza is the President and Chief Operating Officer

of Planters Development Bank, the country’s largest private development
bank. The recognized leader in SME finance, Plantersbank counts among
its shareholders:
• International Finance Corporation – World Bank
• Asian Development Bank
• Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO)
• DEG, the German government-owned Development Bank
Planters Development Bank is currently the 19th largest bank in the
Philippines.
Ms. Aguenza earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business
Administration, major in Economics from the University of the Philippines
(UP) in 1963, and took post graduate studies in Economics from the Ateneo
de Manila University.
• • • • •
46
Poverty, population, and the labor market Curriculum Vitae
Population as public interest

ERNESTO PERNIA
The population issue – now passé elsewhere in the developing world,

even in the poorer countries – remains a durable puzzle in the Philippines.
On the one hand, a majority of Filipinos regard rapid population growth
as an impediment to socioeconomic development, requiring policy
intervention; on the other hand, virtually nothing is being done about
it as the government appears immobilized owing to opposition from the
conservative Catholic Church hierarchy. Central to the population issue
are the negative externalities that sustained high fertility brings to bear
on economic growth, the environment, inequality and poverty. These
externalities plus the fact that women, particularly in poor households,
are having more children than their desired number, as repeatedly shown
by surveys, constitute strong grounds for an unambiguous population
policy. Population is evidently a public interest issue that the national
government must address squarely, objection from some religious groups
notwithstanding.
Ernesto M. Pernia is a professor of economics at the University of the

Philippines, and director for public affairs at the U.P. School of Economics.
He is a member of the Philippine-American Academy of Science and
Engineering. He sits on the board of trustees of the University of San Carlos
and on the boards of a few NGOs involved in development work.
Until recently, Dr. Pernia was lead economist at the Asian Development
Bank’s Economics and Research Department (ERD) where he developed and
directed projects on investment climate and productivity, regional economic
cooperation, human resource development, and economic growth and poverty
reduction in various Asian countries. He also headed ERD’s Knowledge
Dissemination Unit and was the managing editor of the Asian Development
Review.
He obtained his Ph.D. degree from the University of California at
Berkeley in 1976. He received the first award as Outstanding Young Scientist
(economics and social sciences) from the National Academy of Science and
Technology in 1980. He is a former president of the Philippine Economic
Society and co-chair of the Federation of ASEAN Economic Associations.
He has written a number of books, numerous articles in international
professional journals, and chapters in books. He has been a speaker at
numerous international and national conferences on various economic and
development issues.
• • • • •
47
Abstracts & Analysis on poverty, equity and labor market
Curriculum Vitae in the Philippines
HYUN SON
This paper analyzes the relationship between growth, inequality

and poverty in the Philippines, focusing on the role played by the labor
market. It proposes a decomposition methodology that explores linkages
between growth and labor market performances in terms of labor force
participation, employment, working hours and productivity. This paper
introduces a methodology that provides a direct linkage between poverty
and labor market indicators. The paper provides empirical analysis using
both the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) and Labor Force
Survey (LFS), covering the period 1997 to 2003.
Hyun H. Son is Economist at the Asian Development Bank. Before

joining ADB, she was Poverty Economist/Specialist at the International
Poverty Centre, United Nations Development Programme. She also worked
at the World Bank in Washington DC and held an academic position at
Macquarie University, Sydney Australia. She has published and researched
in the areas of economic development, poverty, inequality, public policies, and
pro-poor growth and policies.
• • • • •
48
Occupational dynamics and workers’ welfare: Abstracts &
The Philippines before and after the Asian financial crisis Curriculum Vitae
RANA HASAN
KARL JANDOC
Family income and expenditure survey (FIES) data from the

Philippines show that while households have experienced respectable
growth in incomes and expenditures during the mid 1990s, these grew
very sluggishly (if at all) since the Asian financial crisis. Based on the
idea that these trends have been driven by outcomes in labor markets,
this paper uses four rounds of merged FIES and labor force survey data
spanning the period 1994-2003 to investigate occupational dynamics
in the Philippines. In particular, we examine how wages and job
characteristics have evolved pre- and post-crisis. Additionally, we employ
semi-parametric procedures and Propensity Score Matching (PSM)
methods to develop indicators of job quality and assess their evolution
from 1994 up to 2003. We also relate wages and our indicators of job
quality to industry and sector specific factors, and explore what elements
of economic policy may be driving the trends that we document.
Rana Hasan is Senior Economist at the Development Indicators and

Policy Research Division of the Asian Development Bank’s Economics and
Research Department. Her current research areas include poverty and
inequality, labor markets, social protection, and industrial development.
Prior to ADB, Dr. Hasan was a fellow in the research program of the
East-WEst Center, and adjunct graduate faculty at the University of Hawaii
at Manoa. She has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland,
and earned her M.A. and B.A. degrees from the University of Delhi, India.
Karl Robert Jandoc is a research associate at the Philippine Institute for

Development Studies and a consultant at the Asian Development Bank. He is
currently working for his Ph.D. in economics at the U.P. School of Economics,
where he earned his M.A. and B.S. degrees.
• • • • •
49
Abstracts & PLENARY SESSION 4
Curriculum Vitae Labor migration and development
Migration and development: Still an unsettled relationship

MANOLO ABELLA
International Labor Organization
The growing volume of migrants’ remittances and their relative

stability compared to capital flows have lately generated a lot of optimism
that migration can serve as the engine of growth for some developing
countries. The World Bank and the WTO have contributed to this
optimism with their estimates of the potential gains in global welfare
if there is some liberalization of international migration regimes.Even
the earlier concerns about “brain drain” are being dispelled by evidence,
albeit fragmentary, that human capital stock of origin countries are not
diminished, but instead enhanced, by migration because of the latter’s
incentive-effect on investments in education. Nevertheless the nexus
between migration and development continues to be questioned because
tradiitional development theories do not support optimism and because
one is hard put to find examples of economies thathave been successfully
transformed by migration.
Manolo Abella is currently managing an ILO/EU project on the

Governance of Labour Migration in Asia based in Bangkok. He is a member
of the Advisory Board of the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society at the
University of Oxford and of the Institute of Public Policy Research in London.
From 1998 to the end of 2004, he served as the Director of the International
Migration Programme of the ILO, where he steered the organization’s work
in assisting member states to improve their policies on labour migration and
directed its related program of research. In 2004, he organized the activities
that led to the adoption of a resolution on an ILO Plan of Action “A Fair
Deal for Migrant Workers in a Global Economy” by the International Labour
Conference and later to the development of a Multilateral Framework for
Managing Labour migration, the cornerstone of the ILO Plan of Action.
Mr. Abella has frequently been called upon to advise governments on
labour migration policy, address international conferences, and lecture
in universities. He has contributed extensively to the literature on labor
migration, particularly on the growth of contract labour migration in Asia
and the Middle East, and on the structural changes influencing labour
migration. The book Managing Labor Migration in the 21st Century, which
he co-authored with Philip Martin and C. Kuptsch, was published by Yale
University Press in October 2005. In 2002, President Gloria Arroyo of the
Philippines awarded him the “Heritage Award” for outstanding work as an
international civil servant.
Before joining the ILO he served as the Executive Director of the Institute
for Labor and Manpower Studies in the Philippines, and before that as
economist at the Philippine Board of Investments. He has a BA degree from
Ateneo de Manila University, an M.A. in Economics from McGill University
and an M.A. in Public Administration from Harvard University.
• • • • •
50
Factoring in the social dimensions of international Abstracts &
labor migration: The Philippine experience Curriculum Vitae
FABIO BAGGIO
Scalabrini Migration Center
A fair assessment of more than 30 years of massive deployment of

Filipino workers cannot disregard the “social costs” of migration. The
contract worker system, which does not allow family reunification, has
unveiled the vulnerability of “transnational” families. A new “culture
of migration” has arisen: new generations are growing up with the
conviction that emigration is the only way to achieve professional and
personal fulfillment. The educational system has adjusted to professions
that are marketable abroad, with little consideration of what is really
needed in the Philippines. The exodus of professionals and “brain drain”
may present a real impoverishment of the Philippines, especially in the
health care sector. The feminization of migration underscores risks and
vulnerabilities which pose major challenges to the protection of migrants’
rights. The strong dependency on money earned abroad affects not only
migrants’ nuclear family, but also their extended family, whose members
had economically contributed to their deployment. These manifold
concerns should be considered alongside the economic benefits of
international labor migration.
Fabio Baggio is a missionary of the Scalabrinian Congregation

(Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo) since 1991. After concluding his
studies in the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (PhD in History), he
was assigned to different missionary activities.
He was counselor of the INCAMI (Episcopal Commission for Migrations
of Chile) in Santiago de Chile, from 1995 to 1997, and director of the
Migration Department of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires (Argentina) from
1997 to 2002. He worked as a researcher in the Center for Latin-American
Migration Studies (CEMLA), in Buenos Aires, from 1998 to 2002. He
taught as adjunct professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences in the Universidad
del Salvador, in Buenos Aires, from 1999 to 2000, and in the Institute of
Theology of Sao Paulo - ITESP (Brazil), from 2000 to 2001.
Presently, he is adjunct professor at the “Pontificia Universitas
Urbaniana” in Roma, Italy; professor at the Maryhill School of Theology
(SMT) in Manila, Philippines; director of the Scalabrini Migration Center
(SMC) in Manila, Philippines; editor of the Asian Pacific Migration Journal
(APMJ) and Asian Migration News (AMN); vice-president of the Philippines
Migrant Rights Watch (PMRW) and area representative for Asia-Pacific of
the Scalabrini Migration Network (SMN).
• • • • •
51
Abstracts & PLENARY SESSION 5
Curriculum Vitae Fearless forecast for 2008: The take-off?
The Philippine economic and credit outlook

JAMES MCCORMACK
Fitch Ratings
James McCormack will present his views on the Philippine Economic

and Credit Outlook, focusing on Fitch Ratings global outlook and the
implications for the Philippines. Fitch projects weaker US economic
growth in 2008, and this will affect economic growth across Emerging
Asia, including the Philippines. To some extent, the Philippines will
benefit from increasing trade ties with China, but there are limitations
to this consideration. From a sovereign credit perspective, the Philippines
iswell placed to deal with any reduction in capital flows to Asia which
may accompany a reduction in global investor risk appetite. This topic
will be explored in the context of the Philippines’ gross external financing
requirement for 2008. Mr. McCormack will also discuss recent fiscal
performance in the Philippines, as this is a critical factor in the sovereign
rating outlook.
James McCormack is a senior director in Fitch Ratings’ sovereigns group

in Hong Kong, where he is responsible for analysis and ratings of sovereigns
across Asia. Previously, Mr. McCormack worked for Fitch as a senior director
of sovereigns in London, covering the Middle East as well as Central and
Eastern Europe.
Prior to joining Fitch, Mr. McCormack worked for Export Development
Corp. of Canada as a country risk analyst. Earlier, he was an economist for
the Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade in Canada, in the
Economic and Trade Policy Division as well as the International Economic
Relations Division. He was also an economist at Wharton Econometrics
(WEFA) Canada.
Mr. McCormack earned a BA (Honours) in economics from York
University (Canada) and an MA in international economics from the
University of Toronto.
• • • • •
SIN BENG ONG

Sin Beng Ong re-joined JPMorgan Singapore in 2003 working in
Emerging Asia research following a stint in Hong Kong with the Boston
Consulting Group. He currently heads up JPMorgan’s research effort for the
ASEAN region. He holds a bachelors and masters from Cornell University.
• • • • •
52
Growing at 7.5 percent: Abstracts &
Too good to be true, too good to last? Curriculum Vitae
CIELITO F. HABITO
Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development
The first semester performance of the Philippine economy, as

manifested in trends in prices, jobs and incomes, is the usual mix of good
and bad news. The reported rate of growth of the economy has surprised
even government economic managers. Inflation and employment data
likewise reflect positive trends. But apparent contradictions in the
economic data put to question the reliability of the reported trends. At
the same time, closer examination of the data and international trends
reveal weaknesses that may put to question the sustainability of such
positive indicators. Continuing weakness in investment and revenue
performance are the most critical threats that the Philippine economy
must overcome. The medium and longer term potentials of the economy
remain promising, but much needs to be done by way of reforms in
governance and economic policies in order to realize such potentials.
Cielito F. Habito is currently a professor of economics at the Ateneo de

Manila University, where he is the director of the Ateneo Center for Economic
Research and Development (ACERD). He also sits in the boards of several
corporations and foundations, including the Manila Water Corporation,
Metrobank Card Corporation, Mutual Fund Company of the Philippines,
Philsteel Holdings, the Cahbriba Alternative School Foundation, Maximo
T. Kalaw Institute for Sustainable Development, Brain Trust, Inc., and the
Ramos Peace and Development Foundation (RPDEV).
Dr. Habito writes the weekly column “No Free Lunch” in the Philippine
Daily Inquirer. He was the youngest member of the Cabinet of Philippine
President Fidel V. Ramos as Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning/NEDA
Director-General throughout his six-year presidency from 1992 to 1998. He
chaired the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development from 1992-
1998, and was elected Chair of the Sixth Session of the United Nations
Commission on Sustainable Development in New York in 1998.
Before joining government in 1990, he was Professor and Chairman of
the Department of Economics at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños
(UPLB), and had also worked at Kyoto University and the World Bank.
He holds a Ph.D. (1984) and M.A. (1981) in Economics from Harvard
University, a Master of Economics (1978) from the University of New
England (Australia), and B.S. Agricultural Economics, summa cum laude
(1975) from the University of the Philippines-Los Banos.
• • • • •
53
54
55
Officers & President MICHAEL M, ALBA
Board of Directors De La Salle University
Vice-President FERNANDO T. ALDBA

Secretary WINFRED VILLAMIL

Treasurer LEONARDO LANZONA

Directors MYRNA AUSTRIA

ARTURO CORPUZ
Ayala land, Inc.
PONCIANO INTAL, JR.

ANICETO ORBETA, JR.

PETER LEE U
Ex-Officio ARSENIO M. BALISACAN

EMMANUEL ESGUERRA
56
1961 Armand V. Fabella Past Presidents
1962/63 Amado A. Castro
1963/64 Benito F. Legarda, Jr.
1964/65 Agustin L. Kintanar
1965/66 Placido L. Mapa, Jr.
1966/67 Jose Encarnacion, Jr.
1967/68 Gerardo P. Sicat
1968/69 Edgardo P. Zialcita
1969/70 Sixto K. Roxas
1970/71 Antonio V. Ayala
1971/72 Jose E. Romero, Jr.
1972/73 Quirico S. Camus, Jr.
1973/74 Bernardo M. Villegas
1974/75 George Piron
1975/76 Vicente B. Valdepeñas, Jr.
1976/77 Vicente R. Jayme
1977/78 Jesus P. Estanislao
1979 Mahar K. Mangahas
1980 Manuel S. Alba
1981 Ramon K. Katigbak, Jr.
1982 Cesar P. Macuja
1983 Vicente T. Paterno
1984 Filologo Pante, Jr.
1985 Emmanuel T. Velasco
1986 Edita A. Tan
1987/88 Ernesto M. Pernia
1989 Ramon B. Cardenas
1990 Benjamin E. Diokno
1991 Vaughn F. Montes
1992 Alejandro N. Herrin
1993 Mario B. Lamberte
1994 Victor B. Valdepeñas
1995 Margarito B. Teves
1996 Felipe M. Medalla
1997 Emilio T. Antonio, Jr.
1998 Cayetano Paderanga, Jr.
1999 Romeo L. Bernardo
2000 Dante B. Canlas
2001 Ruperto P. Alonzo
2001 Cielito Habito
2003 Emilia Boncodin
2004 Gilberto M. Llanto
2005 Alexander C. Escucha
2006 Aresenio M. Balicacan
57
OFFICIAL EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS
PLDT-SMART FOUNDATION
MEDIA PARTNER
PEACE AND EQUITY FOUNDATION
SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION

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Souvenir Program

45th Annual Meeting

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

09:00 AM OPENING CEREMONY

09:30 AM KEYNOTE SPEECH

10:00 AM COFFEE BREAK

10:30 AM PLENARY SESSION 1

01:30 PM PARALLEL PANELS 1

C. Environment: Economics of mining

Resource valuation in relation to mining

D. Competitiveness and productivity

CYRUS PAULO BUENAFE

E. Philippine growth statistics:

03:00 PM COFFEE BREAK

03:30 PM PARALLEL PANELS 2

CARLOS ANTONIO TAN, JR.

PATRICK GERARD SIMON KING

L. Regulation and development

JADE ERIC REDOBLADO

MIGUEL ROBERTO BORROMEO

08:30 AM PLENARY SESSION 2

MA. FLORDELIS AGUENZA

10:00 AM COFFEE BREAK

10:30 AM PLENARY SESSION 3

02:00 PM NOBEL LAUREATE TALK

08:30 AM PLENARY SESSION 4

10:00 AM COFFEE BREAK

10:30 AM PLENARY SESSION 5

Constraints to long-run growth in the Philippines

Using a growth decomposition framework based on a Cobb-Douglas

Dante B. Canlas is a professor of economics at the School of Economics,

Jong-Wha Lee is the Head of the Asian Development Bank’s Office of

On the relevance of export-led growth in the Philippines

The history of development may be summarized into four stylized

Elizabeth Tan is currently a lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Grade inflation: Fact or myth?

Real grade inﬂation is the upward shift in students’ grades without a

Studies on Tertiary Economics Education in the Philippines are still

Mining investments in the Philippines: Strategic issues

After almost 10 years since the passage of the 1995 Philippine

The paper examines whether mining communities in Benguet

The paper determines the factors aﬀecting the export performance of

Teresa Duenas-Caparas works for the International Affairs Group of

This paper examines the proﬁt and cost eﬃciency of commercial

Santos Jose Dacanay III is an assistant professor of management at the

This paper looks closely at the concept of competition in the context of

Niceto Poblador holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania

Identifying the determinants of overseas Filipinos’

Adjustments in the face of peso volatility:

This paper examines the volatility of economy-wide and industry-

Information, incentives and practice patterns:

CARLOS ANTONIO TAN, JR.

To explain divergent physician practices, studies focus on either

This paper examines the impact of two hospital-based interventions

A stakeholder analysis on the initiative to harmonize/

This study assesses the feasibility of establishing a single supervisory

Anna Whitehouse was appointed to the Philippines in July 2004

Global interest has in biofuels and bioenergy has been stimulated

Raymond R. Tan is an associate professor of the Chemical Engineering

Land Administration and Management Issues:

The CARP accomplishments on land distribution have been

Marife Ballesteros is a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute