Catching Up with Asia’s Tigers, Volume II

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This is a companion volume to one that appeared in September last year under the same title. The first chapter presents an overview of the main findings of the study on the effects of trade policy reform of the eighties on the country’s manufacturing sector. The succeeding eight chapters discuss in detail the impact of trade policy reform on the performance, competitiveness and structure of selected manufacturing industries, namely the meat the meat processing and dairy, textile and garments, electrical appliance, synthetic resin and plastics, agricultural machinery, motorcycle and parts, packaging and shipbuilding/repair and boatbuilding. The PIDS research fellows and associates and masteral thesis writers from the University of the Philippines School of Economics have undertaken these industry studies. In light of the country’s present efforts to push industries to achieve world-class competitiveness, the studies offer valuable empirical evidence on the importance of trade policy reform in shaping industrial efficiency and performance. They demonstrate how enterprises and industries respond to economic incentives and prove that policy reform matters. It is hoped that these studies could clarify some issues that surround the difficult path of policy reform in the country and assist policymakers in providing the right environment for growth.