9/25/2018 Poverty in the Philippines: Causes, Constraints and Opportunities | Asian Development Bank

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Poverty in the Philippines: Causes, Constraints and

Opportunities
Poverty and inequality in the Philippines remains a challenge. In
the past four decades, the proportion of households living
below the official poverty line has declined slowly and
unevenly.

Economic growth has gone through boom and bust cycles, and
recent episodes of moderate economic expansion have had limited
impact on the poor. Great inequality across income brackets,
regions, and sectors, as well as unmanaged population growth, are
considered some of the key factors constraining poverty reduction
efforts.

Note: See more recent data on the Philippines on the dashboard

Philippines: By the numbers on ADB's Data Library.

Causes of Poverty

The main causes of poverty in the country include the following:

low to moderate economic growth for the past 40 years;

low growth elasticity of poverty reduction;
weakness in employment generation and the quality of jobs generated;
failure to fully develop the agriculture sector;
high inflation during crisis periods;
high levels of population growth;
high and persistent levels of inequality (incomes and assets), which dampen the positive
impacts of economic expansion; and
recurrent shocks and exposure to risks such as economic crisis, conflicts, natural disasters,and
"environmental poverty."

Key Findings
The report's key findings include the following:
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9/25/2018 Poverty in the Philippines: Causes, Constraints and Opportunities | Asian Development Bank

Economic growth did not translate into poverty reduction in recent years;
Poverty levels vary greatly by regions;
Poverty remains a mainly rural phenomenon though urban poverty is on the rise;
Poverty levels are strongly linked to educational attainment;
The poor have large families, with six or more members;
Many Filipino households remain vulnerable to shocks and risks;
Governance and institutional constraints remain in the poverty response;
There is weak local government capacity for implementing poverty reduction programs;
Deficient targeting in various poverty programs;
There are serious resource gaps for poverty reduction and the attainment of the MDGs by
2015;
Multidimensional responses to poverty reduction are needed; and
Further research on chronic poverty is needed.

The report comprehensively analyzes the causes of poverty and recommends ways to accelerate
poverty reduction and achieve more inclusive growth. In the immediate and short term there is a
need to enhance government's poverty reduction strategy and involve key sectors for a collective
and coordinated response to the problem. In the medium and long term the government should
continue to pursue key economic reforms for sustained and inclusive growth.

Contents 
List of Tables, Figures, Boxes and Appendixes

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Part 1 Executive Summary

Part 2 Introduction

Part 3 Poverty Profile

Part 4 Causes of Poverty

Part 5 Impacts of Poverty on Economic Growth and Development

Part 6 Institutions and Governance in the Poverty Response

Part 7 Summary of Key Findings and Recommendations

References

Appendixes
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9/25/2018 Poverty in the Philippines: Causes, Constraints and Opportunities | Asian Development Bank

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