Panel Data Evidence on Upland Agricultural Land Use in the Philippines: Can Economic Policy Reforms Reduce Environmental Damages?

The article investigates the determinants of land-use decisions made by farmers in an upland area of the Philippines. The goal is to quantify land-use responses to economic signals, especially agricultural prices, and thereby to shed light on the impacts of policies affecting such prices. Researchers use a decade-long panel of farm-level data on agricultural practices and prices. They find that prices do indeed matter to upland land-use decisions, and thus that policy reforms, such as those required by accession to the WTO, may be influential if indirect determinants of land-use patterns in these politically and environmentally sensitive areas. labor in nonfarm sectors. The Philippines is now an important supplier of labor-intensive goods such as garments, electrical machinery and components, and of services such as call centers, to world markets. Expansion of these labor-intensive industries applies upward pressure to low-skill wages and encourages out-migration by members of farm families, both directly for employment, and indirectly for education and training.