Forum bats for reforms in labor, industrial policy to achieve inclusive growth
Read more: Forum bats for reforms in labor, industrial policy to achieve inclusive growth
Senate forum calls for labor reforms to create more jobs, achieve inclusive growth
The effects of labor regulations such as the minimum wage policy should be considered if government is really serious about creating jobs and pursuing inclusive growth.
This was stressed by Dr. Vicente Paqueo, visiting research fellow of state think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), in a forum at the Senate on September 18 organized by the Senate Economic Planning Office and PIDS. The forum is part of the nationwide celebration of the 12th Development Policy Research Month spearheaded by PIDS.
A study by Paqueo, PIDS Senior Research Fellow Aniceto Orbeta, and PIDS consultants Lorenzo Lanzona and Dean Dulay revealed the damaging effects of the increases in minimum wage. “It reduces the demand for workers in small firms and also results in lower household incomes—20 percent less based on our computation,” Orbeta explained.
That the study showed that small firms are hit hard by the minimum wage policy is particularly relevant for the Philippines as they comprise the bulk of registered businesses and collectively account for majority of employment. With increases in minimum wage, they are forced to cut worker hours, decrease size, or stop operating. This creates a negative multiplier effect on household incomes and thus exacerbates poverty.
Read more: Senate forum calls for labor reforms to create more jobs, achieve inclusive growth
4Ps yields positive results, preliminary impact studies say
Results of recent evaluation studies on 4Ps reveal that it has no significant negative impact on work effort of household heads, leads to increased school participation of children, and results in increased household consumption of education-related goods.
These are the early indicators of success shared in the session on “Evaluating Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)” of the international conference on “Making Impact Evaluation Matter: Better Evidence for Effective Policies and Program” held at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters from September 1 to 5. The conference was the first ever to tackle impact evaluation and systematic reviews in a large scale in Asia, and was organized by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), the ADB, and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). It coincided with the observance of the 12th Development Policy Research Month spearheaded by PIDS.
Read more: 4Ps yields positive results, preliminary impact studies say
Cabinet officials back impact evaluation of gov't programs
Two top officials of the Aquino administration on Wednesday (Sept. 3, 2014) backed efforts to integrate evaluation practices into development programs, saying these measures ensure the efficient and prudent use of public and donor funds.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said evaluation practices have “provided effective feedback of lessons learned for the improvement of program and project designs of future development projects.”
“This year we are taking it a step further by including in the national budget a significant amount to conduct process assessments and impact evaluations of more government programs,” Balisacan said in his opening remarks at the start of the international conference dubbed “Making Impact Evaluation Matter: Better Evidence for Effective Policies and Programs” being held at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters.
Read more: Cabinet officials back impact evaluation of gov't programs
Gov't, international agencies commit to more funding for impact evaluation
Impact evaluation in the Philippines is getting a boost with the government, the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation or 3ie, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) ready to pour in more resources to evaluating development programs.
In a press briefing on Day 1 of the “Making Impact Evaluation Matter” international conference being held in Manila, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the Philippines is now among many developing countries utilizing impact evaluation to assess what development programs have been effective in addressing poverty reduction.
This year, the government has released PHP 300 million for process assessment and impact evaluation to be spearheaded by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the state policy think tank. The government plans to budget more or less the same amount for next year, the Cabinet official bared.
Read more: Gov't, international agencies commit to more funding for impact evaluation
Read more: Secretary Balisacan to open #IEmatters conference
IEmatters: Impact evaluation week open
Read more: Filipino experts tackle impact evaluation techniques in #IEmatters workshops
12th Development Policy Research Month to be launched with a press conference
To formally launch the DPRM, a press conference is scheduled on August 28, 2014, Thursday, from 10:30AM to 1:30 PM at the Romulo Hall, NEDA sa Makati Building, Amorsolo St., Makati City.