#2

In strictly economic terms, economic development represents a situation

whereby the capacity of an economy changes from long term static situation to generate
and sustain an annual increase in GNP at the rates of 5% to 7% and even more.
Economic development was associated with rise in per capita GNP which would occur
if growth of GNP is more than growth of population. During 1950 and 1960 economic
development was evaluated in terms with advanced capitalistic world of perfect
markets, consumer sovereignty; free play of forces of demand and supply; utility
calculations. The traditional measures of economic development were supplemented by
non-economic, Social Indicators: gains in literacy, schooling, health conditions and
services and provision of water supply and housing etc. However, they realized that the
levels of living masses of people remained for the most part unchanged, thus, showing
a wrong approach with the traditional and narrower definition of economic
development.

As what Prof. Dudly Seers said, “"Economic development will be possible if we see (i)
what has been happening to poverty? (ii) what has been happening to unemployment? (iii)
what has been happening to inequality? If all three have declined then it would represent
development for the country concerned. If one or two of these central problems, have been
growing worse especially if all three have, it would be strange to call the result 'development'
even if per capita income doubled". This opened a new perspective of development for the
economists. According to World Bank, the challenge of development is to improve the quality
of life. It encompasses as ends in the poorest countries a better education, higher standards of
health and nutrition, less poverty, a cleaner environment, more equality of opportunity, greater
individual freedom, and a richer cultural life.

Therefore, the modern/new definition of economic development must be conceived of as

a multidimensional process which could involve major changes in social structures, popular
attitudes, and national institutions, as well as the acceleration of economic growth, and the
eradication of poverty. With this idea, the WHO came up with the SDGs that could help solve
the issues we are facing and to truly achieve the definition of modern economic development.
In this essence, we can say that, Development must represent the whole game of change
whereby unsatisfactory life is replaced by a materially and spiritually better life.

http://www.economicsconcepts.com/new_economic_view_of_development.htm
#1

Poverty and inequality in the Philippines remains a challenge. In the past years, the
proportion of households living below the official poverty line has declined slowly and
unevenly. Economic growth has gone through boom and bust cycles, causing a great impact on
the poor. But what are the real causes of poverty? Are individuals’ choices in life causes
poverty?

There are several causes on why a huge number of people in the Philippines experience
poverty. One of which is the inequality in the income distribution. The rich earns higher income
than the poor. This unequal income distribution will cause the rich and their families to get
richer and the poor to only get poorer to the point of not being able to acquire basic necessities.
Another cause is the lack of quality education. Since not all people are able to have the best
quality of education, many of them will have a hard time competing with graduates from other
countries in terms of getting a job. The lack of jobs is another factor on experiencing poverty.
Since there is a lack of jobs, it would increase the number of unemployed people. Unemployed
individuals will not be able to earn a living thus need to depend on others who are employed
for basic needs. Also, overpopulation contributes on why a huge number of people in the
Philippines experience poverty. With a rapidly growing population, it will be hard to
accommodate all the people in the labor force. It will be hard to ensure the every Filipino will be
able to get a job and earn a living. The more people that is unemployed, the more people will
suffer from poverty and have trouble accommodating their basic needs. Another cause is
corruption. Instead of having to improve the country by the means of the money of the people,
it ends up in the pockets of some unjust politicians causing the condition of the country to
worsen. Hence, laziness is never an aspect which causes poverty, the government’s ill intent are.

As the poverty in the Philippines continue to worsen, the people, mostly in the state of
poverty, experiences consequences. As shown in the video, the people in the province of Samar
are experiencing extreme poverty which resulted to lack of education, malnutrition, and such.
Some people say, poverty can be solved if one is industrious and hardworking to achieve his
endeavor. However, in my opinion, hard work is not the only solution because even an
industrious person, just like the citizens in Samar, belonged to the 9 out of 10 Filipinos who are
experiencing poverty. The solution should be focused on how to improve our country as a
whole, not based on every individual’s capability. The first step that the government should do
is to determine the causes of such poverty and address those causes individually. In this
manner, even if there is slow progress, a silver lining at the end of the journey is rest assured.