Ernesto M. Pernia

Factors Influencing the Choice of Location: Local and Foreign Firms in the Philippines

HERRIN A. N. and PERNIA E. M. (1987) Factors influencing the choice of location: local and foreign firms in the Philippines, Reg. Studies 21, 531–541. The paper addresses the following questions. Is the locational behaviour of foreign firms systematically different from that of local enterprises? What are the more important determinants of industrial location, in general, and by specific types of firms? How effective are direct government influences in the choice of location? This analysis is based on data from a survey of 100 firms drawn from the top 1,000 corporations in the Philippines. The overall finding is that out of thirty-four factors that are commonly thought to influence location decision, only seven are considered as crucial. These determinants can be distilled into four, namely, access and transport, power, information and communication, and physical plant requirements. On the whole, they apply more or less equally to local and foreign firms, implying that there is little difference in their ...

An economic and social impact analysis of small industry promotion: A Philippine experience

Abstract Small-scale industry (SI) promotion became a prominent policy instrument in developing countries during the 1970s and will probably maintain such a position in the 1980s. In the Philippines, a major SI promotion program was initiated in 1974 by the Ministry of Industry. This paper attempts to evaluate the impact of SI promotion on various aspects of economic and social development. The results of the analysis seem to lend credence to the policy of fostering small enterprises. Although some of the popular claims about the contribution of small enterprises to development may be overstated, there is some indication that public policy support for small industry development in the provinces is worthwhile because it apparently has an impact on socioeconomic concerns.