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We distinguish the effects of the Philippines' conditional cash transfers (CCT) between the intended (poor) and unintended (nonpoor) beneficiaries. We use a proxy means test similar to what was officially used and apply it on a nationally representative sample of households to identify some poor households who are excluded and nonpoor households included in the program on account of inherent leakages in program implementation. To evaluate the CCT's impact, we matched the poor beneficiaries with poor households excluded from the program and nonpoor beneficiaries with nonpoor households outside CCT. For the poor households, we find a reduction in wages of working children who presumably now spend more time in school in compliance with the program's conditionalities, indicating less child labor. For nonpoor households, we find some indication that program participation led to moral hazard as evidenced by lower income from salaries and wages. Since the reduction in income is greater than the increase in transfers received by nonpoor households, their savings declined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Household air pollution (HAP) arising from the use of solid fuels for cooking is known to have adverse health effects including acute respiratory infections in children, which remains a major public health concern in developing countries. Hence, various interventions to reduce HAP have been advocated or piloted in many countries. To provide additional evidence on the effectiveness and applicability of the interventions in various settings, we investigate the effects of clean fuel for cooking on the risks of respiratory illness of children below five years old in the Philippines. We apply the propensity score matching method on a subsample of households culled from the 2013 round of the National Demographic and Health Survey to account for the systematic differences in their characteristics that could influence their choices of cooking fuel. We find that the use of electricity, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas or biogas can lower by 2.4 percentage points the incidence of severe coughing with difficulty in breathing in young children. Our results support worldwide initiatives to promote the household use of clean fuels for cooking and heating to reduce HAP and its undesirable impacts on population health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explain divergent physician practices, studies focus on either differences in education and training or in financial incentives. The policy challenge is to identify the most cost-effective interventions to encourage adherence to practice guidelines. Utilizing private physician data in major cities in the Philippines, we show the effects of training and financial incentives in physician adoption of the TB DOTS protocol. Training seems to be more important when the new protocol is a significant departure from the old know-how, while financial incentives seem to work better on those who are already clinically competent. These imply that uniform application of information-based and incentive-based interventions may not be cost-effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel product for managing Pomacea canaliculata, golden apple snail (GAS), containing quinoa saponins (Chenopodium quinoa), was evaluated under laboratory conditions for the protection of newly sprouted rice seeds. Experimental methods mimicked conditions found in direct-seeded rice cultivation in the Philippines, but with a very high GAS density (90snails/m2). Protection of newly sprouted seeds was directly proportional to saponin concentration in rice water. At 9 and 11ppm saponin, seedling protection after 48h against GAS of different sizes was 93% and 95%, respectively. Seedling recovery after 5d with 11ppm saponin was 93%. This value declined to 0% and 4%, for the control (untreated) and niclosamide, a synthetic chemical molluscicide, respectively. The results indicated that although niclosamide provides high efficacy against GAS (100% mortality, 24h), it has a serious detrimental effect on rice seedlings. Mean GAS mortality with 11ppm saponin was low at 24h (45%), but increased to 94% at 48h. Thus, seedling protection was probably due to an almost immediate closure of the snail''s opercula when exposed to saponin solutions, followed by significant death rates within 24 and 48h. The product also exhibits ovicidal effects, particularly with 1–5d old egg masses; older egg masses were less susceptible to the product. The use of 11ppm saponin slightly affected shoot growth, but this effect disappeared with time and the plants attained normal development. Saponin application rates at 10ppm saponin in the rice water correspond to ca. 6kg product/ha under cultivation conditions used in the Philippines. These results suggest that quinoa saponins may represent a commercially feasible environmentally benign alternative to synthetic chemical molluscicides against GAS, particularly in direct-seeded rice culture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Similar to other developing countries, diarrhea in the Philippines continues to be among the top causes of child mortality and morbidity. In pursuit of its Millennium Development Goals, the Philippine government commits to reduce child deaths and provide water and sanitation services to more rural households by 2015. Applying propensity score matching on the 1993, 1998, 2003, and 2008 rounds of the National Demographic and Health Survey to estimate the average treatment effect on the treated, it is found that the incidence of diarrhea among under-5 children is lower by as much as 4.5% in households with access to piped water and 10% in those with their own flush toilets, relative to comparable households. These findings underscore the need to ensure the quality of drinking water from the pipe or from other improved sources at the point of use, and the provision of improved and own sanitation facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Like other developing countries, the Philippines commits to achieving universal health coverage. To identify the factors - including health care needs, financial and physical access, and opportunity costs - associated with delays in seeking outpatient (OP) and inpatient (IP) care among household members with illness, injury or advised by a doctor, this paper estimates Cox and Weibull proportional hazard models using a nationally-representative sample of households surveyed in 2011, when the Philippine government just started implementing major health reforms. Our results indicate that the delays in seeking OP care tend to be shorter for the very young (5 years old or below), the elderly (65 years old or above), and those with prior poor health. Similarly, delays in seeking IP care tend to be shorter among the very young and those requiring maternity services. Moreover, having a college-educated head of household is associated with shorter delays in seeking OP and IP care. Delays in seeking OP care are shorter in the National Capital Region than in other regions, but longer OP delays are associated with presence of a nearby public health facility. Deferrals in seeking IP care are shorter and delays in seeking OP care are longer when the sick or injured member is employed. When the spouse of the household head is employed, IP care is likewise postponed further. Relative to the poorest income quintile, the second- and third-income quintiles tarry longer. Last, insurance coverage and urban location are not found to be significant correlates. To enhance the effectiveness of recent reforms on utilization, these results suggest deepening the awareness of the covered population of their insurance benefits or to monitor the quality of local health facilities, especially that received grants. Labor policies that reduce the opportunity cost of seeking care among the employed may also be considered. • We examine delay factors behind outpatient and inpatient care in the Philippines. • Proportional hazard models are estimated with a random sample of 2950 households. • Delays are shorter for sick young and old members, and college-educated heads. • Delays are unrelated to insurance, but shorter for the 2nd and 3rd income quintiles. • Employment status of the sick member or spouse is associated with delays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]