BS Economics
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Item Restricted Do government social protection programs (Social Pension and 4Ps) alleviate depressive symptoms (CES-D) among indigent senior citizens in the Philippines?(2026-06-05) Iglesias, Shayne R.; Ong, Nadine Sheriz D.; Solon, Orville Jose C."This study examines whether the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are associated with lower probability of depressive symptoms among indigent senior citizens in the Philippines. Drawing from Grossman's (1972) health capital model, this study derives a well-being function of income, program participation, and individual characteristics, operationalized through the 11-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale as an empirical proxy for well-being. Using the 2018 Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), logistic regression models were estimated for each CES-D symptom, controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic variables. Three sequential specifications were estimated across all eleven CES-D items, with interaction terms identifying differential program effects within the lowest wealth quintile. This study found that seniors in the lowest wealth quintile were significantly more likely to experience depressive symptoms across nine of eleven CES-D items, and that both programs function as domain-specific stabilizers: the 4Ps reduced rarely or not enjoying life by 3.8 percentage points and perceiving others as unfriendly by 1.7 percentage points, while the Social Pension reduced rarely or not feeling happy by 3.8 percentage points, poor appetite by 0.3 percentage points, restless sleep by 0.5 percentage points, and feeling disliked by others by 2.6 percentage points. Yet, neither program significantly reduced any of the three depressive affect symptoms: felt depressed, felt lonely, and felt sad. Given this, the study concludes that the Social Pension and 4Ps, at their current design and transfer levels, are insufficient to address the full burden of depressive symptoms among indigent senior citizens, and recommends that the Department of Social Welfare and Development, in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management, increase the Social Pension transfer amount and introduce a specific grant component targeting the health and well-being of indigent senior citizen household members within the 4Ps."Item Restricted Effect of coal price votality on industry output value(2026-06-10) Sengia, Laurence Arthur S.; Solon, Orville Jose C.This paper attempts to measure the effect of coal price volatility on the value of Philippine manufacturing output. Studies by Elder and Serletis (2010) and by Aye et al. (2014) suggest that energy price volatility can reduce manufacturing activity. This paper uses the real options framework of Dixit and Pindyck (1994), which explains how uncertainty can delay firms’ production and investment decisions, to frame the research question from which an empirical model is derived. This empirical model is estimated using monthly panel data on 22 Philippine manufacturing industries from 2018 to 2025, using fixed-effects panel regressions, and interaction specifications. Results suggest that after controlling for lending rates, inflation, exchange rate movements, producer prices, and fixed industry and year factors, coal price volatility has no statistically significant direct effect on manufacturing output value in the base model. However, the interaction model suggests that the effect of coal price volatility varies under different macroeconomic cost conditions, reflecting broader financing and price pressures faced by firms, particularly through its interaction with lending rates and inflation. This implies that coal price volatility does not affect manufacturing output value uniformly, but its impact may become more pronounced when combined with broader financing and price pressures on firms. Industry-level interaction results suggest stronger negative sensitivity in leather and footwear, transport equipment, wearing apparel, basic pharmaceutical products, and furniture, with weak evidence for coke and refined petroleum products.Item Restricted The effect of english proficiency on GDP per capita: a cross-country analysis from 2011-2023(2026-06-11) Gobaco, Tyler Marten T.; Soto, John Kennedy O.; Solon, Orville Jose C.This study examines the effect of English proficiency on GDP per capita through human capital, trade integration, and foreign investment grounded in the human capital theory. Using cross-country data from non-native English-speaking countries, we find that a one unit increase in the standardized English proficiency score index is associated with a ten to twenty percent increase in GDP per capita. However, through causality tests, there is evidence that GDP per capita also affects English proficiency as higher income levels lead to greater investments in language proficiency and human capital. Despite the two-way relationship, there remains room for investments in English proficiency to drive economic growth.Item Restricted The double burden of occupational and sectoral segregation: analyzing wage penalties and gender disparities in the Philippine Labor(2026-06-05) Cariaga, Sophia Beatrice R.; Zamora, Erin Beatrice C.; Solon, Orville Jose C."The study investigates the ""double burden"" issue of gender wage discrimination in the Philippine labor market based on the estimation of a baseline penalty faced by women throughout the labor force (the first burden) and if this penalty compounds within environments that are male-dominated (the second burden). Utilizing cross-sectional data from 37,126 wage-earners in the October 2024 Philippine Labor Force Survey, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions are estimated across four empirical specifications within an extended Mincer earnings framework. The study employs the Categorical Quartile Threshold Model across 4-digit codes to separate continuous from discrete segregation thresholds within individual occupations (PSOC) and individual industries (PSIC). The empirical results reveal a first burden of unadjusted baseline wage penalty of 13.2% prior to controlling for occupational and sectoral composition, while the second burden is present at the occupational-level and is more spread out across different industries. Ultimately, the paper establishes that over half of the aggregate gender gap is driven directly by occupational sorting and recommends that labor policies consider the gender composition of occupations and industries."Item Restricted The effects of parental and grandparental education on an individual’s primary income(2026-06-05) Baluyut, Abraham Christopher D.; Mariano, Belinda Rose B.; Solon, Orville Jose C."We sought to determine if, and by how much, a person’s primary income is affected by the educational attainment of their parents and grandparents. Education economists have found that the benefits of educational achievement persist throughout multiple generations. Furthermore, these benefits become important drivers of socioeconomic mobility (Dacuycuy, 2018; Blanden et al., 2023; Yuan et al., 2025). Using data from the Merged Family Income and Expenditure - Labor Force Survey (FIES-LFS) 2023 dataset, we utilized a modified Mincerian Wage Equation to estimate legacy effects on income through Parent-Child and Grandparent-Parent-Child connections, with a Two-Step Heckman Selection Model used to correct selection bias. We found that parental educational attainment is positively associated with a worker’s primary income. However, grandparental educational attainment has a weaker, less consistent direct relationship with a worker’s primary income. Yet, several significant grandparent-parent interactions imply that educational advantages may persist across multiple generations. These findings suggest that the economic returns to education are not only dependent on the worker, but also the educational history of that worker's family."Item Restricted Income and healthy lifestyle behaviors among older Filipinos(2026-06-05) Arenas, Carlos Santiago L.; Cruz, Peter Allaine D. Jr.; Solon, Orville Jose C."This study investigates whether income influences healthy lifestyle behav iors among older Filipinos and examines whether income-based interventions can promote healthy aging. Grounded in the Grossman Model of Health Capital (Grossman, 1972), the study conceptualizes healthy lifestyle behaviors as observable investments in health capital and argues that both economic resources and health production efficiency shape healthy lifestyle adoption. Using 2018 baseline data from the Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), the study employs Ordinary Least Squares regression models with interaction terms to estimate the effects of income and educational attainment on a composite Healthy Lifestyle Index (HLI). Results show that income has a positive but diminishing effect on healthy lifestyle behavior, while educational attainment emerges as a substantially stronger predictor than income, with a base coefficient of 0.336 compared to 0.103 for income. The findings further indicate that the effect of income varies across educational attainment levels and that healthy lifestyle behavior is primarily influenced through social participation, sleep, and alcohol-related behaviors rather than uniformly across all lifestyle dimensions. Overall, the results suggest that while income support can contribute to healthier lifestyles among economically vulnerable older adults, effective healthy aging policies should also strengthen health literacy, healthcare access, and opportunities for social participation."Item Restricted Determinants of primary non-immediate-family caregiving among older adults during illness(2026-06-08) Rosana, Karl Dyren M.; Sy, Lorenz A.; Jandoc, Karl Robert L.As the Philippines transitions toward an aging society with limited formal long-term care services, informal caregiving, particularly by immediate family members, serves as the main source of support for older adults with care needs. However, demographic shifts, particularly high migration rates and increasingly diverse household structures, often constrain the availability of immediate family caregivers, elevating non-immediate-family caregiving (NIMFC) as an alternative form of caregiving. This study finds the determinants of primary reliance on NIMFC among older Filipinos during episodes of illness. Data from the 2018 Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP) were analyzed using binary logistic regression, guided by the Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Service Utilization, with a sample of 3,057 older adults. The findings show that NIMFC primarily functions as a compensatory mechanism, with reliance on non-immediate-family networks increasing when immediate family support is limited because of demographic factors such as single status, widowhood, or fewer living children. Transnational financial transfers, particularly remittances from children abroad, facilitate the mobilization of NIMFC, while higher household wealth and poor health of potential caregivers decrease the likelihood of receiving NIMFC. Stratified analyses reveal distinct rural-urban patterns: in rural areas, NIMFC is driven predominantly by health needs and community assistance, whereas in urban areas, it is more closely associated with household structure and economic capacity. These findings show that informal care in the Philippines operates through layered networks and that NIMFC is complementary to immediate family caregiving. As demographic and social changes continue to reshape traditional caregiving, policies should recognize and strengthen support for non-immediate-family networks to sustain care for the aging population.Item Restricted Sources of mental strain among caregivers of older persons in the Philippines(2026-06-08) Mencias, David Dylan H.; Jandoc, Karl Robert L."The Philippines, similar to the rest of the world, exhibits an urgent need for the expansion of the caregiving industry. Despite the country’s attempts to respond to demand for the care industry, a substantial amount of caregiving is shouldered by informal caregivers within the family. I use data from the Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP) (N = 554) to create a path analysis of multiple regressions using characteristics of both care recipients and their respective caregivers, aiming to identify the main risk factors for caregivers. The findings indicate that while some considerations, such as functional dependency and perceived social support, are important in isolation, these considerations are mediated through the multifaceted work of a caregiver. Mental strain is significantly transmitted via the subjective secondary appraisals, most explained by physical problems (β = .401, p <.001) and relational conflict (β = .239, p < .001). While multiple variables appeared significant at different stages of the path analysis, physical problems and relational conflict were significantly correlated with a higher likelihood of self-reported mental strain. These prove that while current state interventions to establish financial safety nets for employed professionals may address financial concerns, these are insufficient to significantly mitigate mental strain. Policies must be (a) supplemented to improve physical respite and conflict mediation and (b) expanded to insulate informal familial care infrastructures from this strain. "Item Restricted Sleep disturbance and cognitive impairment: a mediation analysis of frailty among older adults in the Philippines(2026-06-08) Dimaano,Kathrina Allaine T.; Policarpio, Shazel Catherine B.; Jandoc, Karl Robert L.This study examines the role of frailty as a mediator in the association between sleep disturbance and cognitive impairment among older adults in the Philippines. Using the data from the 2018 Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), a causal mediation analysis is applied to estimate the direct, indirect, and total effects of sleep disturbance on cognitive impairment, with frailty as mediator. A total of 5,177 older adults were included. Results show that sleep disturbance is significantly associated with cognitive impairment, and frailty mediates this relationship, explaining a small but statistically significant portion, accounting for 15.43% of the total effect. The findings underscore that interventions for the management or delaying cognitive impairment of older adults can be geared towards addressing frailty. Early screening for both sleep disturbance and frailty may be a good strategy in maintaining the cognitive health of older adults.Item Restricted The association between child loss and health decline from circulatory diseases among bereaved parents: a survival analysis(2026-06-08) Billedo, Davien Nica C.; Manotok, Kylan Fredrick N.; Jandoc, Karl Robert L.This study examines the association between child loss and the timing of health decline among older parents in the Philippines. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), the analysis applies a Cox proportional hazards model to estimate how parental bereavement is associated with the risk of developing circulatory diseases over time. We explore the timing of adverse health outcomes of bereavement by modeling loss of a child as a time-varying covariate. Health decline is measured by the onset of circulatory diseases, including heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and high blood pressure. Results indicate that parental bereavement is significantly associated with earlier health decline. The hazard of circulatory disease onset was 55% higher (HR=1.55) among bereaved parents than non-bereaved parents. Kaplan-Meier estimates show that differences in health trajectories begin to emerge at around age 50 and increase with age. Stratified analyses also show that the effect exists within subgroups, and stronger associations are observed among mothers, urban residents, and parents who initially reported good health. This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence from a context of a developing country and focusing on the timing of health decline rather than solely on mortality outcomes. The findings highlight the need to consider bereaved parents as a vulnerable population and point toward the need for targeted public health policies for mitigating long-term effects of child loss.Item Restricted The Association between generativity and cognitive, functional, and mental health outcomes among older Filipinos: evidence across gender and urban-rural differences(2026-06-08) Bertoso, Miguel E.; Sauz, Joshua Cyril R.; Jandoc, Karl Robert L."Generativity pertains to the individual’s concern to nurture, support, and guide the next generations through parenting, teaching, mentoring, advisory, or community roles. These activities are aimed toward contributing to the well-being of future generations, especially the youth. This study investigates the association between generativity and multifaceted health outcomes experienced among older Filipinos. Specifically, it examines generativity’s relationship with cognitive performance, physical or functional performance, and mental health outcomes. Using cross-sectional data from Wave 1 of the 2018 Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), binary logistic regression with average marginal effects for each of the health outcomes was employed on a nationally representative sample of adults aged 60 or above. Results indicate that a higher level of generativity is significantly associated with better cognitive performance and physical or functional performance but with worse mental health outcome, after adjusting for confounding covariates. Stratified analyses expose heterogeneity across residence and gender. Generativity is significantly associated with better cognitive performance in both urban and rural environments, but its association with physical or functional performance (positive) and mental health outcome (negative) is significant only in rural settings. Moreover, gender asymmetry was also revealed, as generativity’s association across all three health domains are statistically significant among older women but not older men. These findings suggest that generative acts can support physiological and cognitive reserves of older Filipinos, but the accompanying structural and emotional burdens can have a psychological toll on vulnerable demographics. This study brings up the importance of gender- and context responsive approaches beyond traditional material allocations to effectively improve the welfare of older Filipinos."Item Restricted Educational attainment and economic vulnerability among functionally limited older adults: analyzing the mediating pathways of intergenerational support nets in the Philippines(2026-06-08) Asi, Beneice Emmanuel R.; Jandoc, Karl Robert L.This paper looks into the protective effect of educational attainment among functionally limited older Filipinos, mediated through the indirect pathway of intergenerational support given by their adult children. Utilizing data from the 2018 Philippine Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health (LSAHP) (n=5,985), the study utilizes a two-stage empirical analysis composed of logistic regression analysis that looks into the direct protective effect of educational attainment and causal mediation analysis which incorporates the mediating effect of intergenerational support. Findings from empirical analysis revealed that a higher educational attainment among functionally limited older adults provides a strong protective effect against later-life economic vulnerability. On the aspect of intergenerational support, adult child education yielded the strongest mediating effect, which is encompassing for both educational categories for asset poverty but is only statistically significant for high school graduates and below for hunger, indicating the importance of education as access to better labor and income opportunities. Adult child migration followed suit, but is only statistically significant toward high school graduates and below for both asset poverty and hunger, highlighting the importance of remittances to build up long-term asset sources and to solve incidence of hunger with short-term cash transfers. Adult child employment lacked statistical significance for both asset poverty and hunger, indicating that low domestic wages are not enough to sustain the needs of functionally limited older adults. The study’s findings suggest that the current government policies should shift towards becoming holistic and family-centered, starting with promoting widespread tertiary educational access for low income households and upholding the House Resolution No. 905 that works on temporary reduction of remittance fees to influence long-term asset building and resolve hunger with short-term cash transfers.Item Restricted Electoral cycles and procurement allocation: evidence from Philippine government contracts (2021–2025)(2026-06-10) Mendoza, Maria Veronica R.; Sumajit, Mary Khristine Gwynette S.; Balaoing-Pelkmans, Edylinda Anette O.This paper empirically explores variations in government procurement implementation in the Philippines across electoral cycles. Using procurement data from the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) for 2021 to 2025, this paper examines contract values, procurement frequency, and non-competitive procurement activity across the pre-election, election, and non-election periods. Guided by the Political Budget Cycle framework and Rogoff’s signaling model, fixed-effects estimations test whether procurement implementation systematically differs across electoral windows. The results show that the implementation of procurement varies widely across Electoral Cycles. Contract values are higher in the pre-election periods, procurement frequency increases modestly, and other patterns consistent with procurement front-loading emerge. In contrast, election periods are characterized by low procurement frequency. Further analysis indicates that such patterns may be especially strong in procurement channels where non-competitive procurement is possible, consistent with changes in the timing and size of procurement activities, but also changes in the composition of contract allocation. Contract-level analysis thus provides complementary evidence at the implementation level to the political economy and public procurement literature, which mostly relies on traditional aggregate fiscal indicators, offering new insights into how electoral incentives may shape government contracting behavior.Item Restricted Maternal factors and their associations with childhood stunting in the Philippines as evidence from the ENNS data(2026-06-11) Macam, Joshua Larry; Urriquia, Bianca Therese B.; Balaoing-Pelkmans, Edylinda Anette O."Affecting about one in every three children, stunting is one of the most prevalent forms of malnutrition in the Philippines (Ulep et al., 2021; Sahoo et al., 2024). In the Philippines, an estimated 18-percentage-point gap between Ilocos and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) prevails, suggesting the persistence of regional disparity in stunting (Ulep et al., 2021). Maternal determinants have been identified as significant contributors to explaining stunting prevalence in the country (Ulep et al., 2021). This study aims to contribute by examining the regional stunting gap and the extent to which differences in maternal biological, health care, and socioeconomic characteristics explain the child stunting gap across regions. Using the 2018 and 2019 Expanded National Nutrition Survey, the study examined 18,789 under-five children and maternal determinants through three sequential logistic regression models and three age-specific Fairlie decompositions. The findings revealed a 9.46-percentage-point stunting gap between the lowest- and highest-stunting regions among children aged 0–23 months and a 12.88-percentage-point gap among children aged 24–59 months, with an overall stunting gap of 11.16 percentage points. The analysis identified maternal wealth and education as consistent contributors to the explained stunting gap. It also emphasizes that the associations and significance of maternal factors in regional stunting disparities vary between children aged 0–23 months and those aged 24–59 months. The findings support considering age-specific structural framework in policy interventions and for prioritizing high-stunting regions, which may help explain differences in the stunting gap across regions. "Item Restricted From pump to plug: a preliminary exploratory analysis of the association between electric vehicle adoption and gasoline prices(2026-06-10) Gatmaytan, Daniel M.; Mirasol, M. China P.; Balaoing-Pelkmans, Edylinda Anette O.The growing global electric vehicle (EV) market is an opportunity for the Philippines and its consumers to transition towards a more sustainable fuel source, however the country currently faces barriers hindering its rate of adoption of electric vehicles. This preliminary study focuses on identifying whether rising gasoline prices are associated in predicting the rate of adoption of EVs through a two-way fixed effects semi-log panel regression framework, controlling for effects per region and year. The findings show that the change in gasoline prices by itself is not enough to explain the rate of EV adoption in the Philippines, contrasting with global studies on EV adoption and survey-based studies on consumer preferences in the Philippines. This is likely due to unobserved factors influencing consumer decisions to purchase electric vehicles alongside the emergent state of the market in the country.Item Restricted The impact of manufactured cigarette price and doctor’s advice on smoking cessation in the Philippines(2025-12-18) Austria, Regina Micah M.; Mayo, Natalia H.; Chan, Justin Rainer S."This study examined the impact of cigarette price and doctors’ quit advice on smoking cessation among Filipino smokers. Using pooled cross-sectional data from three waves of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in 2009, 2015, and 2021 (N=6,586), a probit regression model was created for each cessation outcome: quit intention, quit attempts, and successful quits (sustained abstinence for 1 and 6 months). We find strong evidence that higher cigarette prices are significantly associated with higher probabilities of intentions to quit smoking. We find no significant evidence that cigarette price is associated with smoking quit attempts and quit success. In contrast, we find strong evidence that doctors and healthcare providers’ quit advice consistently increases the probability of smoking cessation outcomes for all models. Lower smoking intensity, lower nicotine dependence, fewer household smokers, and higher smoking knowledge also have significant positive effects on quitting outcomes. We also add evidence that smokers who are older, female, urban residents, and have higher educational attainment experience higher probabilities of having quit intentions, attempts, and successful quits, while employment status does not significantly affect quitting. Overall, we find that relative to price, which only significantly affects quit intentions, doctors’ advice is a stronger intervention in improving not only intentions but actual quitting attempts and sustained abstinence."Item Restricted A study on PEZA: investment momentum and employment reallocation in the Philippines(2026-05-18) Marquez, Luis Angelo; Oro, Vernon John; Chan, Justin Rainer S.This study examines whether sustained investment in Philippine Special Economic Zones (SEZs) affects regional employment distribution. Using panel data from from 2002 to 2021, it analyzes the relationship between firm registrations and regional employment share. A lagged baseline model compares contemporaneous and linear investments specifications to test whether medium to high volume of sustained investment leads to larger effects than short-term spikes. Results show that sustained investment is generally associated with increases in regional employment share, indicating the presence of cumulative dynamics with effects stronger in regions with existing industrial capacity and better access to major markets. However, while the linear model suggests a positive average effect of additional firm entry, alternative specifications indicate that the relationship may vary across investment levels, with diminishing gains in some regions at higher levels of sustained investment. These findings suggest that SEZ effectiveness depends not only on attracting investment but on sustaining it over time and supporting it with complementary conditions.Item Restricted Impact of electric vehicle adoption on fuel consumption and electricity demand in the Philippines(2026-05-01) Chua, Francesca Yddet; Madriaga, Karylle Anne; Chan, Justin Rainer S."This study investigates how electric vehicle (EV) adoption affects fuel demand for internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and overall fossil fuel use in the Philippines. Annual data from 1990–2024 are analyzed using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) models for gasoline and diesel consumption, while annual data from 2003–2024 are analyzed using first-differenced Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions to examine the relationship between EV adoption, electricity consumption, and fossil-based electricity generation. Results show a stable long-run relationship in the gasoline model, where gasoline prices significantly reduce fuel demand while GDP positively affects consumption. However, EV adoption does not exhibit a statistically significant long-run effect on gasoline demand, with only weak short-run substitution effects observed. In contrast, the diesel model shows weak evidence of cointegration, suggesting that diesel demand is influenced mainly by short-run dynamics. The findings also indicate that EV adoption does not yet significantly affect electricity consumption although increases in electricity demand significantly raise fossil-based electricity generation. Overall, current EV adoption remains too limited to generate measurable fossil fuel offsets in the Philippines."Item Restricted The cost of survival: evidence of household expenditures reallocation in the Philippines(2026-05-01) De Leon, Ma. Michaela Beatrice; Sagana, Krisha Isabel; Chan, Justin Rainer S."The study examines Filipino household behavior regarding the adjustment of welfare expenditures in light of the overlapping price shocks from 2018 to 2023 in the Philippines. The pooled repeated cross-sections derived from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) dataset have been used to classify welfare expenditures into five functional clusters and employ Engel curve log-log models with interactions between year and decile and income and decile. The findings illustrate that Immediate Consumption represents an unaltered protected necessity with an increasing emphasis on its priority in poorer households due to price shocks' growing strength. On the contrary, Human Development and Protective Welfare demonstrate pronounced contractions in poor deciles in the pandemic years while higher-income households increase their investments in these two dimensions. Partial recovery had been achieved by 2023; however, it was only partial and largely income related. The Protective Welfare dimension is characterized by high income elasticity reflecting income inequality related to households; ability to cope with risks. Moreover, Human Development has been shown to be income-related, although being limited for poorer households. The Asset Formation and discretionary spending dimensions exhibit similar characteristics. Overall, the findings suggest a systematic process of welfare adaptation in which families cut back on Lifestyle expenditures first, followed by Protective Welfare and Human Development expenditures to maintain Immediate Consumption. Asset Formation becomes largely inaccessible to lower-income groups and is preserved by higher-income households. In this sense, inflation restructures not only spending levels but welfare allocation itself, amplifying inequality in households’ capacity to sustain protection, invest in development, and build long-term resilience, with welfare functions remaining strongly interconnected as shock effects reverberate across all dimensions."Item Restricted Does proximity to children affect healthcare utilization outcomes among older adults in the Philippines(2025-01-05) Ramos, Erin Therese D.; Samson, Miranda Marie Beatrice V.; Jandoc, Karl Robert L.This study examines whether proximity to children influences healthcare utilization among older adults in the Philippines. Using nationally representative data from the 2018 Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), the analysis investigates how three tiers of proximity (co-resident, same barangay, and outside barangay) are associated with inpatient care, outpatient care, and unmet need for healthcare. Guided by Andersen’s Behavioural Model of Health Service Use, logistic regression models sequentially adjust for predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Results show that having a child living in the same barangay increases the odds of inpatient utilization relative to co-residence, suggesting that nearby children may facilitate access during acute health events. For outpatient care, proximity effects diminish after full adjustment, though men with same-barangay children exhibit lower utilization. Proximity does not significantly predict unmet healthcare needs. Across outcomes, health status indicators, particularly chronic diseases and functional limitations, are the strongest determinants of utilization, while socioeconomic disparities, especially wealth, substantially influence outpatient use and unmet need. Additionally, gendered patterns emerge in the role of proximity: having a son in the same barangay is associated with higher inpatient use among older men and women and lower outpatient use among older men. Overall, the findings highlight that while proximity offers some advantages, healthcare use among Filipino older adults is shaped more strongly by health needs and socioeconomic resources. The results underscore the importance of strengthening formal healthcare access and support systems alongside family-based care.