ChapterThree
TradeLiberalization andinternationalMigration: ThePhilippineCase Fernando
7l".Aldaba *
ABSTRACT
in the Philippines. Specifically, it looks at the relationship of he paper international migration trade andexamines migration.theItdeterminants proposes an ofeclectic migration model and shows by regression analysis that goods and labor mobility are substitutes in the medium and long terms. In the short run, as economies expand due to market reforms, migration may still continue. Other determinants of international migration include the economic growth of the country and specific factors related to the destination countries like wage rates and the existence of networks. Political stability in the Philippines did not turn out to be significant. The key policy prescription is to continue with the economic reforms such as improving trade openness to increase the employment and income possibilities of the Filipino people. In the short run, government needs to ensure the protection and welfare of the overseas contract workers. INTRODUCTION The long years of protectionism in the country had long been cited by various studies as a major factor for the country's slow growth path in the past three decades. Trade liberalization was seen as an agent of growth and structural change leading to higher incomes and reallocation of production and consumption. Since the 1980s, the Philippines has embarked on trade reforms through the elimination of quantitative restrictions and tariff reduction. These series of reforms had significantly reduced the average level of effective protection from * Assistant professor,
Ateneo de Manila University.