House of Representatives - Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (HOR-CPBRD)

Fiscal Roadmap to Economic Recovery

Fiscal policy can play an important role in supporting robust and equitable economic growth. The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences have caused potential output in many countries to decline sharply. As such, government responses should be swift, concerted and commensurate with the severity of the public health crisis, with fiscal tools taking a key role. Restoring growth is essential in mitigating fiscal challenges ahead. The central objective of this paper is to take a closer look at the role of fiscal policy to economic growth, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper provides discussion on the challenges/risks and prospects of fiscal policy space, and possible reform options for the different fiscal policy instruments in navigating the recession and in adapting to the new post COVID-19 economy. The paper draws from extensive review of the literature on the topic and several analytical studies, including inputs from webinars and existing legislative proposals. Read More

Delving into the Country’s Future Outlook

This socio-economic outlook is framed not only by the COVID-19 “black swan” but also by the recognized need to shore up the Philippines’ policy reform agenda toward sustaining and enhancing productivity and social equity. Prioritization of reforms taken in combination, in critical areas such as social protection, public health, foreign direct investments, supply chains and logistics, telecommunications/digital transformation reform and regulation, among others, can ultimately create the long-awaited architecture of resilience. This can be accomplished while building in flexibility attuned to the dynamism and unpredictability of the new environment and improving the capability to respond effectively and efficiently under the broadest range of risks and uncertainty. This report examines the following aspects of the country’s future outlook: mix of hope and caution in inoculation’s role in economic recovery; growth prospects amid the pandemic and the need for sustained structural and policy reform; causes and adverse effects especially on the vulnerable and the poor of elevated inflation under COVID-19; persisting social vulnerabilities; and recurring narrative of power shortages. Read More

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Corporate Governance webpage of SEC

The webpage features the presentation materials from the annual SEC-PSE Corporate Governance Forum as well as from roundtable discussions and conferences on Sustainability Reporting. The most recent presentation materials in the webpage are those from the 7th SEC-PSE Corporate Governance Forum "Building Resiliency and Innovation in a New Normal Era" held in November 2020:

• SEC Regulatory Updates
  by Commissioner Kelvin Lester K. Lee
• Impact of COVID-19 on the Economy and the People, and the Need to Manage Risks
  by Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua
• Corporate Governance in the New Normal
  by Atty. Jocelyn C. Villar-Altamira, Vice Chairperson of the Board of Good Governance Advocates and Practitioners of the Philippines, and Head of Corporate Governance and Compliance of Manila Electric Company
• Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) Survey on Risk Management in the Age of COVID
  by Mr. Ricardo Nicanor N. Jacinto, Independent Director of Metro Retail Stores Group, Inc.
• Corporate Governance in the New Normal
  by Ms. Ma. Aurora "Boots" D. Geotina-Garcia, Chairperson of Philippine Women's Economic Network Chairperson, and Co-Chairperson of Philippine Business Coalition for Women
• The Pursuit of Corporate Sustainability: Experiences from the Pandemic
  by Dr Allinnettes Adigue, Manager for Public Policy and Corporate Relations in the Southeast Asia of the Global Reporting Initiative

Now is the Time for a ‘Great Reset’

by Klaus Schwab

COVID-19 lockdowns may be gradually easing, but anxiety about the world’s social and economic prospects is only intensifying. There is good reason to worry: a sharp economic downturn has already begun, and we could be facing the worst depression since the 1930s. But, while this outcome is likely, it is not unavoidable. Read More

A Better Economy is Possible. but We Need to Reimagine Capitalism to Do It

by Klaus Schwab

In the immediate months that followed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world as we knew it was turned upside down. Like most people, I was constrained to observing the situation from inside my home and the World Economic Forum’s empty offices, and I relied on video calls to know how others were doing. Read More

It's 2023. Here's How We Fixed the Global Economy

by Mariana Mazzucato

The year is 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic has come to an end, and the global economy is on the path to recovery. How did we get here? How did our economy and society evolve to overcome the greatest crisis of our age? Read More

How to Restart National Economies During the Coronavirus Crisis

by Andres Cadena, Felipe Child, Matt Craven, Fernando Ferrari, David Fine, Juan Franco, and Matthew Wilson

Around the world, life as we know it has changed drastically. Global leaders and millions of citizens are facing the challenge of a lifetime. The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening not only healthcare systems, but also the livelihoods of citizens and the stability of economies. Read More

COVID-19: Implications for Business

by McKinsey & Company

The COVID-19 crisis and subsequent move to hybrid working models accelerated the need for new workforce skills, particularly social, emotional, and advanced cognitive abilities. Fifty-eight percent of respondents to our recent global survey said that closing skills gaps became a higher priority since the pandemic began. That statistic only hints at the need for retraining: research from the McKinsey Global Institute finds that more than 100 million workers in eight large economies may need to switch occupations by 2030. Read More

Redesign Capitalism to Incorporate Social Value

by Sompo Holdings

The world was facing daunting challenges before the COVID-19 crisis. Climate change, environmental destruction, worsening inequality and widening disparities are problems that some among us chose to downplay or dismiss. Read More

It's the Right Thing to Do.' Walmart CEO Doug McMillon Says It's Time to Reinvent Capitalism Post-Coronavirus

by Eben Shapiro

When the pandemic hit, there was no question that we needed to put all our attention on the safety of our associates and serving our customers who needed access to food and critical supplies. It became clear there were a lot of meetings that didn’t need to happen and, also, that not everybody needed to be involved in every decision. That kind of rigorous prioritization was kind of a reset for our processes, and I think we’ll keep working in a more streamlined way. Read More

Policy Reset Can Deliver a Stronger, More Resilient, Equitable, and Sustainable Post-Pandemic Recovery

by OECD

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought social and economic disruption worldwide, but is also providing governments with the opportunity to put economies on a more sustainable and inclusive growth path while addressing the underlying challenges, according to the OECD’s Going for Growth policy report. Going for Growth 2021: Shaping a Vibrant Recovery analyses pre-existing weaknesses as well as those brought on by the pandemic, and offers policy makers country-specific advice to seize the opportunity for a fundamental reset. Read More

Resetting the State for the Post-COVID Digital Age

by Carlos Santiso

The COVID-19 crisis is putting our global digital resilience to the test. It has revealed the importance of a country’s digital infrastructure as the backbone of the economy, not just as an enabler of the tech economy. Digitally advanced governments, such as Estonia, have been able to put their entire bureaucracies in remote mode in a matter of days, without major disruption. And some early evidence even suggests that their productivity increased during lockdown. Read More

The Global Economic Reset—Promoting a More Inclusive Recovery

by Kristalina Georgieva

The COVID-19 crisis is inflicting the most pain on those who are already most vulnerable. This calamity could lead to a significant rise in income inequality. And it could jeopardize development gains, from educational attainment to poverty reduction. New estimates suggest that up to 100 million people worldwide could be pushed into extreme poverty, erasing all gains made in poverty reduction in the past three years. Policymakers must do everything in their power to promote a more inclusive recovery, one that benefits all segments of society. Read More

Making the Green Recovery Work for Jobs, Income, and Growth

by OECD

This Policy Brief focuses on how countries can create opportunities for a green and inclusive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. A green recovery will significantly enhance the resilience of economies and societies in the face of both the severe recession and accelerating environmental challenges. The Brief also undertakes a preliminary review of announced recovery and stimulus policies in OECD and Key Partner countries. While many countries are focusing on measures that can drive sustainability while boosting jobs, income and growth, a number of countries are proposing measures that support environmentally damaging activities. Measuring and evaluating the environmental impacts of recovery policies over time is crucial, and a set of indicators, covering a broad array of critical environmental dimensions, is proposed for this purpose. Read More

6 Ways the COVID-19 Pandemic Could Change Our Approach to Human Capital

by Andrea Walsh and Ryan Resch

The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the inextricable link between human health and organizational success. Investors and regulators, in turn, are looking to corporate boards of directors to step up their governance of human capital.

Companies with well-established human capital governance frameworks are considered better investments, capable of creating more long-term value; and regulators, such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission, have urged companies to disclose in upcoming earnings releases the actions they’ve taken to protect the health of their employees. Read More

These are the Top Risks for Business in the Post-COVID World

by Caroline Klint

Businesses have had to manage dual economic and health crises, which have driven new employee and customer engagement protocols, remote working on an unprecedented scale, the re-engineering of supply chains, and numerous bankruptcies, consolidations and creative partnerships.

These developments and the long-term risk outlook have businesses wondering how to prepare for what may lie ahead. Foremost on their mind is their survival and building resilience. And not only in relation to ongoing pandemic impacts and their competitive positioning, but also recently unleashed cyber-attacks, catastrophic climate events and social unrest that demands workplace and community change. Read More