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Issues on Poverty Reduction. Arsenio M. Balisacan University of the Philippines Diliman. The Philippine economy—a development puzzle. Level of development in the 1950s: in Asia, second to Japan. Overtaken by most of its neighbors since then.
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Issues on Poverty Reduction Arsenio M. Balisacan University of the Philippines Diliman
The Philippine economy—a development puzzle • Level of development in the 1950s: in Asia, second to Japan. Overtaken by most of its neighbors since then. • Recent decades: Lackluster performance in economic growth & poverty reduction • Remarkable diversity across population groups and geographic areas GDP per capita PPP (in constant 2005 US$) Poverty incidence based on poverty line of $1 a day (PPP) Philippines
Persistent poverty: Not just because of low economic growth, but also because of weak response of poverty reduction to growth
What does it take to sharpen the response of poverty to growth? (1) Focus on • Creating productive employment opportunities • Infrastructure to promote connectivity, especially between leading/urbanizing & lagging/rural areas • Market-friendly institutions to exploit the benefits of agglomeration & specialization
(a) Primary & secondary education (b) Basic health facilities Source: ADB, Philippines: Critical Development Constraints, 2007. What does it take to sharpen the response of poverty to growth? (2) Focus on • Expanding ACCESS of the poor to basic social services, particularly education, health, and family planning services
Indicative areas for national government spending on a poverty program