Selected reading from the Discourses of Epictetus

Course reading ebook adapted by Ian D. Dunkle from Project Gutenberg’s A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus With the Encheiridion, by Epictetus, translated by George Long: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10661Epictetus describes some of the core features of Stoic virtue, including freedom and the importance of solitude

Globalization and State Capacity: The Philippines

The arrival of globalization has brought about a lot of challenges for nations to meet. This paper takes a look at the capability of the Philippine state to cope with the demands of globalization. It documents the rules, laws, regulations, institutions and agencies that underlie the administrative capacity of the Philippines to promote trade and investments, and thereby achieve economic growth. A review and analysis of Philippine practices and experience is undertaken to determine the states readiness for globalization. The study will cover three aspects of state capacity that contribute to the promotion of trade and investments: (1) administrative capacity, (2) systems of transparency and accountability, and (3) legal and judicial frameworks. Finally the paper recommends areas wherein the Philippine government must focus on based on the three aspects as well as suggests follow up in-depth studies on issues covering: capacity to promote healthy competition; regulatory framework and capacity; capacity to develop industries, sectors and regions; policies for social development, redistributive justice, and poverty reduction; policies to promote performance, productivity, and competitiveness; and policies to protect the environment

A Review of the Components of the Medium-Term National Action Agenda for Productivity: An Integrative Report

In 1996, a blueprint on the integrated approach towards improving total factor productivity (TFP) in the Philippines was formulated in a document called the National Action Agenda for Productivity: 1997-1998 (NAAP). NAAP achieved modest accomplishments. Thus, there is a need to continue and build on its maiden achievements in order to remove productivity-enhancing barriers both at the sectoral and national level. In support of this objective, The Medium-Term National Action Agenda for Productivity: 2000-2004 (MNAAP) was formulated to promote a globally-competitive Philippine agriculture, industry, and services which will lead to the generation of more jobs, sustained income growth, and poverty alleviation. This vision is consistent with the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan: 1999-2004 (MTPDP) or Angat Pinoy. In achieving its vision, MNAAP has identified five key result areas which should be the focus of its critical activities: (1) science and technology, (2) human resource and labor-management relations, (3) efficiency of product markets, (4) infrastructure, and (5) public sector governance. This report reviews the framework of the MNAAP and the individual components and items in the Program in order to see whether they can indeed address specific problems at the sectoral level. To achieve this objective, different sectoral papers related to various components of the MNAAP are synthesized and integrated in this report. Various issues and gaps are identified relative to the MNAAP framework; and areas for future research are suggested in order to enhance the countrys overall productivity agenda

Competition Policy and Regulation in Power and Telecommunications

Following the global trend in using private sector participation in infrastructure financing and development, the Philippines has largely utilized privatization as a major approach to the development of infrastructure, particularly in power, water, transport, and telecommunications sectors. To provide a legal framework for private sector participation in infrastructure projects, Congress passed the build-operate-transfer (BOT)law, as amended, to expand the scope of private sector involvement in infrastructure provision. Regulatory reform has accompanied the effort to ensure operational efficiency and competitive provision. This paper intends to review and evaluate the regulatory framework that has been established or suggested for the Philippines, focusing on the power and telecommunications sectors. This study will primarily evaluate the existing regulatory framework. It aims to identify issues and gaps, paying particular attention on the competition-related provisions as well as the institutional capacities of regulatory institutions

Why practice philosophy as a way of life?

This essay explains why there are good reasons to practice philosophy as a way of life. The argument begins with the assumption that we should live well but that our understanding of how to live well can be mistaken. Philosophical reason and reflection can help correct these mistakes. Nonetheless, the evidence suggests that philosophical reasoning often fails to change our dispositions and behavior. Drawing on the work of Pierre Hadot, the essay claims that spiritual exercises and communal engagement mitigate the factors that prevent us from living in accord- ance with our conceptions of the good life. So, many of us have reasons to engage in philosophical reasoning along with behavioral, cognitive, and social strategies to alter our behavior and attitudes so that they’re in line with our philosophical commitments. In these respects, many of us should practice philosophy as a way of life

The Philippine Innovation System: Structure and Characteristics

National innovation system is anchored on the theory that industrial development requires technological capability in industry, and that exploitation of technology is most critical at the firm level. This paper describes the structure and characteristics of the Philippine innovation system and compares it with those of the United States, Japan and Germany. It concludes that the Philippine innovation system must gear up to the requirements of a catch-up system to fit its institutions to its economic structure. This requires all the elements of the system to address the technological capability, adaptation, assimilation and modification needs of a catch-up economy.research and development, innovation, technology capability

An Assessment of the Infrastructure Program of the Duterte Administration

This study assesses the performance of the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) infrastructure programof the Duterte Administration in the Philippines. It reviews the theoretical and empiricalliterature on the link between infrastructure and economic growth and develops a conceptualframework to analyze the impact of the BBB program. Project-level analysis of the BBBprogram identifies the right-of-way acquisition problem as the major factor delaying theproject implementation. Quantitative analysis of completed BBB projects reveals lowcorrelation with regional output. The seeming lack of synergy of BBB projects is explained bythe low investment efficiency index related to project appraisal and selection and by the stateof the regulatory approval processes. On the other hand, the BBB program has achieved an alltimehigh in infrastructure spending compared to previous administrations. However, thisstudy’s assessment of performance vs. targets reveals that it does not live up to expectations.In addition, issues on impact of small versus large projects and on short-run versus long-runimpacts have to be settled in future research when relevant data are available

Competition Policy, Technology Policy, and Philippine Industrial Competitiveness

The disappointing performance of the Philippine industrial sector in the past five decades has been attributed to several factors such as the lack of a stable macroeconomic environment, poor infrastructure, low productivity, low savings rate, and an overvalued currency. This paper attempts to sumarize the link between competition policy, technology policy, and industrial policy, and suggests direction for future industrial policy. It gives a brief discussion on recent Philippine industrial development; analyzes the scope and elements of competition policy; and gives an assessment of industrial policy in the Philippines

A System-wide Study of the Logistics Industry in the Greater Capital Region

The Port of Manila, the largest seaport in the country, has been recognized as the most widely used port in the Greater Capital Region with utilization rate of 71.6 percent compared to only 2.3 percent and 6.1 percent utilization of Batangas and Subic Ports, respectively (NEDA 2012). The ports of Batangas and Subic were developed in order to accommodate excess traffic in the port of Manila and promote growth and development in CALABARZON and Central Luzon. However, port users still opt to operate in the Manila Port. This leads to the congestion of the Manila Port and the underutilization of the other two ports in the Greater Capital Region. The situation was intensified during the implementation of the recently lifted Manila truck ban. The study recognizes that issues and problems still persist in the logistics sector even after the regulation was put off. To address these, the study employs a system-wide approach to analyze the whole logistics industry in the Greater Capital Region.The first part of the study reports the findings of the focus group discussions and key informant interviews with shippers, freight forwarders, logistics service providers, and truckers regarding their port usage. The latter part discusses the rail option model that looks into the revival of the rail system in transporting goods to and from the ports. The study also gives a crude approximation of the economic cost of the seven-month truck ban. In addition, it provides a review of existing policies in the Philippine logistics sector, discussions among concerned agencies, other study recommendations, as well as lessons from other countries. Ultimately, the study provides an extensive list of short, medium, and long-term measures to decongest the Manila Port and to address the underutilization of Batangas and Subic Ports. The list is complemented with a dynamic timeline of the proposed measures and actions with their corresponding implementing agencies