Against the backdrop of the global financial crisis and rising food, fuel, and commodity prices, addressing poverty and inequality in the Philippines remains a challenge. The proportion of households living below the official poverty line has declined slowly and unevenly in the past four decades, and poverty reduction has been much slower than in neighboring countries such as the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Viet Nam. 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. This publication analyzes the causes of poverty and recommends ways to accelerate poverty reduction and achieve more inclusive growth. it also provides an overview of current government responses, strategies, and achievements in the fight against poverty and identifies and prioritizes future needs and interventions. The analysis is based on current literature and the latest available data, including the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey.

Among the key debates fought in developing economies is whether globalization through liberalization is the means by which economies can industrialize and provide their labour forces with tangible improvements in the material conditions of living. This book addresses this issue head on, using empirical evidence from some of the fastest growing and transition economies from East and South Asia. Countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia have already started to deindustrialize before enjoying industrial maturity, while with the exception of China and evidence of some growth in real wages in the other economies, the evidence appears compelling to suggest that increased industrialization and integration into the capitalist economy have not succeeded in providing significant labour improvement. The evidence suggests that a proactive state, focusing on enhancing the material conditions of labour, is pertinent to ensuring sustainable long term industrialization and thus improving material conditions for workers. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy.

Schooling in the ASEAN Region evaluates primary and secondary education in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The book describes the type of present-day schooling in these countries and, to some extent, their cooperative efforts to pursue common goals. The text discusses the aims of schooling; the structure and process of schooling; and the cooperative education ventures present in the ASEAN region. The book describes the social conditions and government efforts toward developing education in each of the five countries. The text summarizes the historical background of the country as it relates to education, the quality and supply of teachers, the curriculum, administrative structure of the educational system, and some data on school enrollment. The book also notes the problems that are present in the educational system of each country, and the existence of non-formal education in some countries. The book then addresses the education trend and future of education. The last chapter then evaluates the performance and achievements of these five countries toward reaching the goals they had set. The book also lists the challenges that these countries face in the future, such as expanding educational needs, improved quality of learning, effective educational structure, administrative efficiency, teacher supply, and better intercountry cooperation. The text can prove informative for historians, educators, school administrators, government policymakers in education, and education students and professors.

The Philippine economy has grown rapidly since 2010, but despite this growth, poverty and inequality remain high. Two-thirds of the poor live in rural areas, and the weak performance of the agriculture sector has contributed to the slow improvement in livelihoods. The challenge for agriculture will further increase, with climate change posing a growing threat to the sector. But agricultural transformation to spur sustained growth and reduce poverty is still possible under climate change with aggressive institutional reforms and implementation of the right mix of policies and programmes. The identification of the suitable policy and programme combination requires an accurate assessment of the key drivers of agricultural growth and food security; the impacts of climate change on agriculture and the overall economy; and the effectiveness of policies for adaptation and growth. This book addresses these big issues, focusing on enhancing the adaptation capacity of the Philippine agriculture sector. It is designed to provide a much-needed base of knowledge and menu of policy options to support decision- and policymaking on agriculture, climate change, and food security. The volume uses newly generated data, modelling outputs, and innovative analyses to provide a scientific basis for a variety of adaptation measures under different sets of climate change scenarios to guide decision-makers in strategic planning and policy formulation. “As we have actually experienced in Leyte, an island province in the Visayas where Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck, disasters caused by natural hazards could completely negate economic gains, devastate families and shatter dreams. Our greatest challenge is to make ourselves better prepared for and be more resilient to such disasters. Natural hazards need not always lead to loss of so many lives and properties. This book shows us ways and provides tools to draw up climate change and socioeconomic scenarios at the regional and provincial levels, allowing us to identify strategies for mitigating climate change risks.” — Ernesto M. Pernia, Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning, National Economic and Development Authority, Philippines “This book by top Philippine researchers combines state-of-the-art biophysical and economic modeling of climate impacts and adaptation policies with in-depth synthesis of agriculture, natural resources, climate trends, and policies. It provides a comprehensive assessment of climate change impacts on agriculture and the broader economy to provide important insights for Philippine policymakers.” — Dr Cynthia Rosenzweig, Head, Climate Impacts Group, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Co-Founder of the Agricultural Model Inter-comparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP)