Philippines

Poverty in the Republic of the Philippines is a complex issue not only affecting the rural areas but the urban areas as well. According to the World Bank, the 2012 poverty headcount ratio [Page 1223]at the national poverty line is 25.2 percent. Key factors for the slow progress in poverty alleviation can be attributed to the country’s unsteady and inadequate economic growth, uneven income and asset distribution, insufficient investment in human capital development, and the limited success of its social safety nets. Poverty in the Philippines remains a rural phenomenon, although the incidence of urban poverty is rising. In spite of various poverty reduction programs such as land reform, access to agricultural credit, and the recent conditional cash transfer program, which provides cash assistance to ...