Comparative and Competitive Advantage of Philippine Rice Production: 1966-1990
Rice self-sufficiency is a dominant policy objective. However, analysis indicates that government policies are not neutral. Thus, it hampers the realization of the potential comparative advantage of the Philippines in rice production. Results suggest that removal of price distortions that create biases against rice production makes possible the attainment of rice self-sufficiency.
Rice and Philippine Politics
Using a political economy perspective, this paper establishes the strong relationship between rice and politics and explains recent developments in the Philippine rice landscape. Results of the analysis show that the price of rice has been a significant determinant in election results since the 1950s, with the exception of 1998, where despite stable prices, the candidate from the incumbent administration failed to win the presidential elections. In addition, reliance by the Philippine government primarily on price instruments to achieve its rice objectives and to protect farmer and consumer interests has not resulted in any substantial improvements in rice production. In fact, the shift to rice protection since the 1980s has failed to stabilize domestic rice prices and has effectively penalized the poorer households. This has been traced largely to the failure of the National Food Authority to provide timely, accurate, and appropriate intervention in the country’s rice market. If the Philippines is to achieve sustained, stable rice supply at low prices and at the same time promote rice consumer and producer welfare, the adoption of a private-focused, market-based regulatory regime without a rice trading parastatal (but with rice emergency reserves, not for price stabilization) remains as a long-term objective.
Land Reform and Democratic Development
Some writers in this volume suggest but do not develop ecological implications of geopiety, as advocated by Heidegger and Asian thought. Anthropocentrism is often cited as a major culprit behind today's ecological problems, and many believe that a shift from anthropocentrism to geopiety is ecologically desirable. However, it remains to be examined whether such a shift would help solve our ecological problems.