Philippine E-Journals

The Persistence of Poverty in the Philippines: Is Globalization the Culprit?

Ponciano S. Intal Jr.

Discipline: Economics

 

Abstract:

This paper highlights the problems of policy inconsistency, structural bottlenecks and budget constraints as contributing significantly to the failure of the Philippines to generate robust economic growth and to the country high vulnerability to external shocks during the 1980s and the 1990s. Poor employment prospects in manufacturing, high food costs, low growth in many agriculture subsectors, and high population and labor force growth rates have led to the high poverty incidence in the Philippines and the slowest pace of poverty reduction in East Asia during the 1980s and 1990s.