Objectives

The Philippines' economic growth during the past five decades has not been impressive compared with that of many of its neighbors; in per capita terms, the growth was even less favorable. As a result, the pace of poverty reduction has been slow, and income inequality remains high. In 2006, about one in four Philippine families and 32.9% of the population were deemed poor, and the Gini coefficient of per capita income was slightly over 45%, among the highest in Southeast Asia.

The Philippine Government is committed to sustained growth, the rewards from which are within reach of every Filipino. The commitment is spelled out in the current Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan.

This book presents the work undertaken for the Philippine country diagnostic study under the Asian Development Bank regional technical assistance project, Strengthening Country Diagnosis and Analysis of Binding Development Constraints in Selected Developing Member Countries. A summary of the findings was published in Philippines: Critical Development Constraints (ADB 2008). This book presents more in-depth work on the various aspects of the Philippine economy and the constraints that curtail its effort to grow and tackle poverty. The discussions in the book will help improve the understanding of the Philippine economy and the challenges that the policy makers face. It will be of value to people who have been following the developments in the region and the Philippines.

Methodology

The study adopts a diagnostic approach and broadly follows growth diagnostics developed by Hausmann, Rodrik, and Velasco (2005).