The Project involves an assessment of the overall impact of the CEPT-AFTA on the manufacturing sector, and a micro-analysis of two (2) industries, namely textile and garments, and meat processing. This project was conducted jointly with the AFTA Commission with the objective of providing the Commission insights in making future decisions on ASEAN proposals to further accelerate CEPT-AFTA.

This study has attempted to come up with some analyses and results that can assist the government, more specifically, the Department of Finance, in laying down policy and institutional framework for the establishment of a municipal credit system that has a substantial private sector participation. The study presented a package of policy recommendations needed to improve the municipal credit system.

The study which was funded by the ASEAN Secretariat has tried to examine the issues surrounding the interaction between trade and environment within the Philippine context. From the findings of the study recommendations were drawn as well as the implications on natural resource and environment management and the appropriate trade policy.

The project was designed to come up with an environmental accounting covering three specific areas. Namely: Marine Fishery Resources, Forest Resources, and the Mineral Resources. Findings of the studies will serve as input into the implementation of the Philippine System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounts (PSEEA) in the natural resource sector which is being spearheaded by the DENR.

The project provided information needed to analyse the private and social opportunity costs of mangrove conversion into fishponds and the implications on aquaculture licensing fees. This was carried out jointly with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). Five (5) component studies plus the integrative report which consolidated all the findings and policy recommendations of the component studies under the project were completed last March 1996. Series of public hearings were conducted to present the findings and results of the project.

The design of the 1990 SAM was based on the 1993 System of National Accounts (SNA) adapted to local needs. It is a systematic matrix, with rows and columns using the same classification units. The row entries refer to the incomings or what is referred to as the resource side of an account in the SNA. The column entries refer to the outgoings or the use side. The 1990 SAM consists of 155 rows and columns and are grouped into Accounts. Similarly, the project was able to develop and calibrate a computable general equilibrium of the Philippine economy using the above matrix. The model which is called RPCGE is a 34-production sector model. It has 10 household types which are grouped in decile. The other institutions included are: unincorporated enterprises, private corporations, and government.

The 1990 SAM was published jointly by PIDS and NSCB to ensure a wider dissemination of results.

 This project was a joint research undertaking between the PIDS and the Department of Health. It was designed primarily to identify the influences of various financing mechanisms on the efficiency, effectiveness, and equitability of the delivery and utilization of health services. The data and research outputs of the project has contributed largely in providing information essential to the formulation of health policy, particularly information for identifying problems, determining options and evaluating these options. It has also served as channel through the seminar-workshops conducted in fostering dialogue between policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders in the health policy process. The Project was able to provide inputs into the analysis of general and specific health financing reform proposals and in the formulation of the National Health Insurance Act of 1995. Likewise, it has contributed information for the construction of the National Health Accounts. On top of these all, the project was instrumental in paving the way for institution building as various researchers from both private and public research institutes were encouraged to participate in the conduct of the different studies under the project.

This three-year research project focused on the analysis of trade and investment policies in the country to formulate an overall trade and investment policy framework that will enhance the efficiency of the industrial sector. Results of the studies were used as inputs in the government's continuing trade liberalization program as well as in the deliberations regarding the ratification of the GATT-Uruguay Round.

The ASEAN Macroeconomic Outlook (AMO) Project was envisioned to develop quantitative tools aimed at facilitating the evaluation of macroeconomic policies and preparation of a regional forecast. Under the Project, an ASEAN Interlink Model was developed for use in policy analysis and regular forecasting.

The study, a project grant agreement between NEDA and the USAID, looked into the overall dynamics of rural development and the methods of developing the rural sector so that its potential contribution can be maximized. It also studied the financial resources affecting rural non-farm enterprises and the potential impact of the Aquino administration's CARP on rural incomes and productivity, the result of which would help government formulate adjustment mechanisms and policies that would reduce the possible disruptive effects of CARP on the rural community.

The report which focused on the country's fiscal bind looked into the roots and effects of such situation, provided estimates on the magnitude of leakages from the revenue system, and prescribed measures that would help reform the fiscal system. The report served as important reference point in the discussion of the government's tax reform program as well as in the Senate's deliberation of various tax bills under study.

Under this project, the Institute drafted a strategy on how to fight poverty for the Presidential Commission to Fight Poverty and, in the process, identified the minimum basic needs (MBN) indicators. The paper was adopted by the PCFP in its strategy program upon approval by President Ramos and the Cabinet.

The project was funded under the Policy Training and Technical Assistance Facility (PTTAF) Program. The project was designed primarily to address government dysfunctions and inefficiencies. There were 13 component studies conducted under the project and which has served as framework papers to be used by the government to streamline the bureaucracy.

The study analyzed the impact of the Central Visayas Regional Projects in terms of the effects on target households/communities and natural resource systems. The impact assessment of the three components, namely: upland agriculture, nearshore fisheries, and social forestry during their final implementation evaluated the performance of CVRP-I relative to its objectives of improving welfare of target beneficiaries strengthening regional, local government and communities' management capabilities; and promoting sustained use of the region's natural resources. Although the results of this study have not yet been fully presented and disseminated, close consultations with officials concerned were held during the research phase of the Project.

This FAO-funded study determined the impact of structural adjustment measures/macroeconomic policy changes on the agriculture/rural sector. Specifically, it identified those policies that could minimize adverse impact on the agriculture and rural sectors and maximize such sectors' contribution to economic growth.

Another IDRC-funded activity, the project concluded with eight studies relating to poverty alleviation and its sustenance which provided a policy agenda for the administration on critical economic and political issues. The studies, which were compiled in a book entitled Poverty, Growth and the Fiscal Crisis by Dr. Emmanuel de Dios et al. provide a serious look at mainstream development and macroeconomic policies and recommend policy directions and strategies that can be adopted.

The studies conducted under this project concerned mainly the impact of macroeconomic policies on the household, firm, and individual levels as response to structural and adjustment changes. Funded by the IDRC, the project developed a framework that would allow for an analysis of the effects of policies on welfare of poor communities and how they impact on such communities through the identified transmission lines. The MIMAP Phase II project served as link up with local government and potential host monitoring system.

The set of studies conducted under this joint research project of the PIDS, Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), and the Ohio State University (OSU) looked into issues related to rural financial intervention/markets and, in the process, assessed the impact of past government policies on agricultural credit and banking regulations as they apply to the rural sector. The findings of the research effort were instrumental in the review of various banking policies like restrictive entry, branching regulations as well as rural lending schemes. They also provided crucial information/data for Congress in their deliberation of certain legislative bills regarding financial intervention in the rural sector.

The PIDS led and coordinated the preparation of the Philippine country report for this Asian Development Bank (ADB) assisted project. The Report examines the country's economic growth and development in terms of its impact on natural resources and the environment, and identifies areas for economic policy reform. It likewise provides a major basis for implementing the relevant recommendations of the World Commission on Environment and Development Report (Brundtland Report).

These policy studies looked into how labor demand affects the economic restructuring and how supply adjusts to this changing demand. The research results provided important guides in effective manpower planning. One of the studies also assessed the extent to which it is possible to integrate manpower planning in the overall planning for development.

This model is now being used by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in its planning and forecasting activities.

 This Project was a collaborative undertaking not only with APDC but also with other regional Southeast Asia (SEA) institutions which provided inputs to the setting up of macroeconomic model for trade in the Southeast Asian region.

The studies conducted in this project helped clarify fundamental socioeconomic policies that can have durable and widespread impact towards better health in the country.

This study recommended measures for the industrial restructuring of the country. It was completed at the time when the first structural adjustment loan from the World Bank was being negotiated. Policy reforms in the industry sector drew heavily from this study.

This policy agenda was prepared to address the needs of the rural sector and was made upon the request of the Department of Agriculture and Food.

Recommendations in this report were adopted in principle by the Aquino Administration and used as input in the preparation of the Philippine Development Plan, 1987-1992.

 This program was an initiative of the Center for Policy and Development Studies (CPDS) at UPLB, with support funding from PIDS and the International Development Research Centre of Canada. Under the program, a number of research studies were conducted, looking into policy issues within the context of the upland environment which involves not only physical resources but also various resource claimant/users with often conflicting motives and activities. The studies tackled, among others, the issues of upland population and migration patterns, economic valuation of the environmental effects of soil erosion with the hope of providing a pricing policy perspective, natural and plantation forest management as well as the economics of communal trees farming. The research efforts associated with this program had provided some answers to pressing questions of managing Philippine uplands. One of the concrete results of the set of studies was the official adoption by the government of the estimated upland population on the basis of the figures earlier provided by the study on upland demography.

 The studies completed under this project provided valuable inputs to the government's Tariff Reform Program and import liberalization program.

This study reviewed the impact of government's macroeconomic policies on the agriculture sector, including the external forces as they affect the sector. It was used extensively in the restructuring of the agricultural sector.

These studies were undertaken to assist the BIR in formulating policy measures aimed at attaining maximum efficiency and increasing tax collection. The econometric model for forecasting national and regional tax collections helped BIR realize the inefficacy of some specific taxes in raising revenues and helped pinpoint alternative schemes for increasing government collection. The evaluation of gross income taxation scheme guided the Bureau in coming up with appropriate policy decisions.