Making Growth Work for the Poor : A Poverty Assessment for the Philippines

World Bank

World Bank, Manila

关键词: ECONOMIC GROWTH;    INCLUSIVE GROWTH;    POVERTY REDUCTION;    POVERTY RATE;    INEQUALITY;   

RP-ID  :  126976

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The report emphasizes the importance ofbreaking the cycle of inequitable investment in humancapital and lack of well-paying job opportunities that trapthe poor in poverty, generation after generation. Childrenfrom poor households start life at a disadvantage.Malnourished and stunted, with poor access to quality healthcare, they are less likely to learn the skills they need andfulfill their potential. As adults, therefore, they earn lowincomes and cannot afford to invest in their own children.They have little to meet their basic needs and nothing tosave against emergencies. Frequent natural disasters buffetthe poor, whose limited means to cope and disproportionatesuffering push them deeper into poverty. Poverty is a threatto peace. In the parts of the country affected by conflict,where physical assets have been destroyed, familiesdisplaced, and human capital eroded, people are trapped in acycle of conflict and poverty. In addition to the challengesof addressing poverty, the Philippines is hindered by thelimited expansion of its middle class. In the East Asiaregion over 2002-2015, the share of population that iseconomically secure and middle class increased from justover one fifth to nearly two-thirds, but the share in thePhilippines increased from 37 percent to just 44 percent.The lack of well-paying jobs limited the gains for laborfrom structural transformation. Every year, 1 percent of theemployment shifted out of agriculture, but most of thoseworkers end up in low-end services jobs. Such limited gainsfor labor could negatively affect the country’s long-termcompetitiveness. The report concludes that making thepattern of growth more inclusive and providing morewell-paying jobs will be crucial to helping people achievehigher and more stable incomes. It claims that steps toaccelerate poverty reduction include creating morewell-paying jobs; improving productivity in all sectors,including agriculture; reducing income and wealth inequalitythrough more investments in people and skills development,enhancing the ability of the poor to participate in growth;rebuilding conflict-affected areas; and better management ofrisks and protection of the vulnerable.