Research Article

Trade Liberalization: Reaping Its Effects on the Agricultural Performance of the Philippines

Authors

  • Jenneli Evangelista Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Letters, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines
  • Niña Michaella Estrella Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Letters, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines
  • Kristine April Suin Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Letters, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines

Abstract

Over the years, economists had been taught that "Trade can make everyone better off", thus the rationale of the dynamic shift in the Philippine agricultural trade system from protectionism to trade liberalization. It was known that the Philippines was one of the champions in the agriculture sector as it had massively produced agricultural goods and exports during the late 20th century. However, various studies and reports have shown and concluded that agriculture in the Philippine setting is now dubbed as the “poor man’s sector”. In this study, it has reaped the reality of the country’s stance in trade agreements as it has examined the correlation of trade openness, imports of goods, and employment to the Value of Production in Agriculture—wherein, it has resulted in distinct conclusions such as (1) trade openness has a negative impact to VPA, (2) imports of goods increase VPA by 0.094373, and (3) employment’s positive impact is estimated to be at 4570.708. The researchers suggest that such results and analysis are vital for the government sector and thus revisit the pros and cons of trade policies and weigh their net effects on the agricultural sector to which people owe their daily nutrition.

Article information

Journal

Journal of Economics, Finance and Accounting Studies

Volume (Issue)

4 (1)

Pages

131-149

Published

2022-01-11

How to Cite

Evangelista, J., Estrella, N. M., & Suin, K. A. (2022). Trade Liberalization: Reaping Its Effects on the Agricultural Performance of the Philippines. Journal of Economics, Finance and Accounting Studies , 4(1), 131-149. https://doi.org/10.32996/jefas.2022.4.1.9

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Keywords:

Trade Liberalization, Agriculture Performance, Imports, Exports, Trade Openness, Philippines, Employment in Trade