ANNUAL

• Feasibility Study on East Asian Free Trade Act(EAFTA)The feasibility study found out that the rationale forEAFTA lies firmly in both economic and politicalinterests of all East Asian countries. EAFTA wouldincrease awareness of a common destiny, lead toinstitutionalized dialogues and contracts, and increasemutual understanding and cooperation in East Asia.maternal health, HIV/ AIDS, malaria and otherdiseases, and environmental sustainability given thebacklogs in inputs and/or intermediate outputsexisting to date.• Gems in LGU Fiscal Management: ACompilation of Good PracticesRecognizing that the lack of financial resources tosupport the provision of basic services and to fundlocal development plans is a critical concern at thelocal level to attain improvements in key humandevelopment outcomes, the study dwelt on thedifferent sources of LGU revenues – both traditionaland nontraditional.• Development of Research Proposals for LGUAssistanceThe overarching objective of the program is tostrengthen and institutionalize evidence-basedplanning and policymaking in local governancethrough the use of data and results of research andpolicy analysis, with PIDS data and research asprimary resources.• Maintenance of PIDS DatabaseThe project is a regular part of PIDS operations thataims to regularly update and maintain the PIDSindicators system to make them more user friendly;develop and incorporate poverty maps in the PIDSdatabase; and align the PIDS database with currentPIDS thrusts of going regional – both sub-nationaland global.PIDS 2006 ANNUAL REPORT6• Children and Household Savings in thePhilippinesThe study examined the relationship betweenhousehold savings and family size. Using a recentnationally representative household survey, the resultsof the study showed that, on average, the impact ofadditional children on household savings is negativeand regressive.• The More the Poorer: Why Large Family SizeCauses PovertyThe study examines the correlation between povertyand family size with emphasis on three primary areas:1) the impact of the number of children on the laborforce participation and incomes of parents, 2)education of children, and 3) household savings.• Trade Policy MonitoringA continuing activity of the Institute, the projectinvolves the regular updating and database buildup ofinformation pertaining to trade and policy industryanalysis.COMPLETED OUT-SOURCED PROJECTS• Inventory of Economic Research Studies onSelected CountriesThe research undertaking provided a compendium ofresearch work and studies for Asia as a first steptoward stocktaking. The project is in preparation forthe formulation of a region-wide cooperation in