The lack of strong competition in the Philippines is discouraging the growth of new businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The more than 20 years of trade liberalization in the manufacturing sector has not resulted in any significant increase in competition, preventing the economy from reaping more of the benefits of trade liberalization. This is the gist of a paper prepared by Rafaelita Aldaba, Research Associate at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
