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Enterprises in the Philippines: Dynamism and Constraints to Employment Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Khor, Niny

    (Asian Development Bank)

  • Sebastian, Iva

    (Asian Development Bank)

  • Aldaba, Rafaelita

    (Philippine Institute for Development Studies)

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyze the factors affecting the growth of enterprises in the Philippines, as measured from the expansion of employment. The paper contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it attempts to provide a comprehensive background of the various policies and legislations that affect firms in the country. Second, using micro-level data of the firms in 2009, we correlate the observed growth of these firms with reported constraints in the business environment within which these firms operate, to investigate which ones are binding constraints. We find significant correlations between a subset of these indicators of business climates and the issues raised in previous literature, and the effects vary across firms of different sizes. Given the challenging global climate in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, more than a third of these firms expanded their payroll and majority saw growth in real sales. Amidst a sea of subjective self-reported responses, we manage to find certain empirical regularities that withstand a battery of robustness checks. These correlations between a subset of indicators for business climates and the growth or expansion of firms may shed some light on future potential policies to assist these firms, as well as provide directions for further research.

Suggested Citation

  • Khor, Niny & Sebastian, Iva & Aldaba, Rafaelita, 2013. "Enterprises in the Philippines: Dynamism and Constraints to Employment Growth," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 334, Asian Development Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:ris:adbewp:0334
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1998. "Financial Dependence and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 559-586, June.
    2. Krishna B. Kumar & Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, "undated". "What Determines Firm Size?," CRSP working papers 496, Center for Research in Security Prices, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
    3. Henrekson, Magnus & Johansson, Dan, 1999. "Institutional Effects on the Evolution of the Size Distribution of Firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 11-23, February.
    4. Meghana Ayyagari & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2008. "How Important Are Financing Constraints? The Role of Finance in the Business Environment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 22(3), pages 483-516, November.
    5. Gerardo P. Sicat, 2005. "Reform of the Economic Provisions of the Constitution : Why National Progress Is at Stake," UP School of Economics Discussion Papers 200510, University of the Philippines School of Economics.
    6. Medalla, Erlinda M. & Aldaba, Rafaelita M. & del Prado, Fatima & Yasay, Donald B., 2010. "Integrating SMEs into the East Asian Region: Philippines," Discussion Papers DP 2010-31, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    7. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç‐Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2005. "Financial and Legal Constraints to Growth: Does Firm Size Matter?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 137-177, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    SMEs; enterprise; employment; constraints; growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D20 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - General
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

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