Abobakar, Kassandra B.

Katog, Azria P.
Pangilan, Hannady E. Peace 8:30am – 9:30am

Causes and Effects of Poverty

Philippines
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.

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."
The report's key findings include the following:

 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 povertyresponse;

 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.

Effects of poverty in the Philippines

• Malnutrition

The hunger situation is alarming. The National Statistical Coordination Board stated that more
than 11 million Filipinos were considered food-poor or living below subsistence level in 2003. The Food
and Agricultural Organization in 2005 reported that there were more than 17 million undernourished
Filipinos. Food insecurity is blamed for the fact that many preschool children are underweight and
malnourished. An economist pointed out that “inadequate food can adversely influence workers’
productivity.” The World Bank in 1996 estimated that the total annual economic loss due to
malnutrition was about US$8 billion.

• Poor Economic growth

The poor remain poor because they cannot borrow against future earnings to invest in
education, skills, new crops, and entrepreneurial activities; they are cut off from economic activity
because many collective goods (such as property
rights, public safety, and infrastructure) are under-provided, and they lack information about market
opportunities.
• Child Labor

According to the National Statistics Office, 3.6 million Filipino children, aged 5-17, are child
laborers. When the parents just don’t have enough money to make ends meet they usually force their
children out of school and send them to work out on the streets, haciendas or factories. Earning money
for their food and shelter became their sole purpose, no longer the education that should have served
to bring them a better future.

• Bad living conditions

Because of poverty, many families are forced to occupy public and private lands without the
right to do so. And, because this land is not theirs, it tends to overcrowd. Because of overcrowding, the
environment usually becomes unsanitary and heightens the chances that disease will spread. Also, their
houses are close together/connected to each other, this makes it easy for fire to spread and giving fire
fighters a hard time to extinguish the flames due to the small roads between these houses.

• Crime/ Theft

Due to the hardships in life caused by poverty, many people can’t even get enough money to
live. This causes them to do whatever it takes to be able to sustain their and their family’s need even
when it involves stealing. The researchers observed that the major reason for theft is poverty. Because
of poverty, the thieves need to steal to be able to live.

How to stop poverty in the Philippines?

Global
With 1.3 billion people living under the poverty line, ending global poverty seems like an
insurmountable task. However, the developed world has the resources to achieve it. It is not simply a
matter of throwing money at the world’s poor, though.

Causes of poverty

Causes of poverty are changing trends in a country's economy. Associated with the lack of
education, high divorce rate, a culture of poverty , overpopulation, epidemic diseases such as AIDS and
malaria and environmental problems such as lack of rainfall. Extreme weather may be a cause of
poverty in many
countries.
Effects of poverty

• Poor Health

Globally, millions suffer from poverty-related health conditions as infectious diseases ravage the
lives of an estimated 14 million people a year and are of the top effects of poverty. These diseases are
contracted through sources like contaminated water, the absence of water and sanitation, and lack of
access to proper healthcare. The list is broad and long. Here are the top diseases commonly linked to
poverty.

• Crime

There’s an old adage that says, “If a man don’t work, he don’t eat.” That’s not the case for a
large number people living in poverty. Lack of economic opportunity leads to impoverishment which
then lead to crime.

Global unemployment is at a high point. One hundred ninety two million people around the
world are jobless. In some parts of the world, mainly poor parts, unemployment standings will drive this
number higher. In a study done on youth in the Caribbean, it was determined that joblessness fueled
criminal activity in those aged 15 through 24.

• Lack of Education

There is a direct correlation between low academic performance and poverty. Children who are
exposed to extreme levels of poverty have difficulty with cognitive development, speech, and managing
stress, which leads to adverse behavior. In the country of Niger—the most illiterate nation in the
world—only 15 percent of adults have the ability to read and write. Eritrea follows on the heels of Niger:
with a population of 6 million, the average person only achieves four years of school.

5 Easy Solutions to Global Poverty

With 1.3 billion people living under the poverty line, ending global poverty seems
like an insurmountable task. However, the developed world has the resources to achieve it. It is not
simply a matter of throwing money at the world’s poor, though. There are simple and concrete
methods that will end global poverty:

1. Empowering women in developing countries.

60 percent of the world’s poor are women; 80 percent of agriculture in Africa and 60
percent of agriculture in Asia is done by women. Yet, it is more difficult for women to get credit
from banks, making them unable to afford fertilizers and better seeds which would increase
their crop yields. According to UN estimates, giving women access to credit could feed up to 150
million people. Addressing hunger is critical to breaking the cycle of poverty. Women also tend
to reinvest more of their wealth in their own communities, further lifting their communities out
of poverty.
2. Providing nutritional school meals with local crops.
The effect of this is twofold: children are fed in school, and they are then more inclined
to stay in school, leading to more education and thereby more development in the society.
Parents of girls in the developing world in particular are much more likely to send their
daughters to school if there are meals provided. Also, locally sourced school meals mean that
farmers, communities, and local economies all benefit from the purchase of these local crops.

3. Improving access to water.

Much of the world’s poor consist of subsistence farmers, and the only way these
farmers can rise out of poverty is by selling more crops. But when one of the small farmers who
make upthe world’s poor needs to water their crops, it often means trekking miles to the
nearest water source, grabbing what water can be carried, and heading all the way back to their
plot of land. Improving water access through water pumps, storage, conservation, and irrigation
systems allow farmers to produce enough to lift themselves and their communities
out of poverty.

4. Building local grain storage facilities.

This helps communities store excess food which can later be sold at better prices. This
also improves a community’s resilience to natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, and
storms, as it enables the community to maintain productivity and nutrition despite damage or
other adverse circumstances.

5. Advocate for the world’s poor.

Lack of leadership from the White House and Congress is the biggest obstacle to solving
global poverty. The US is the first country ever to have both the ability and political influence to
end poverty. All that is needed is for the US to lead the developed world in dedicating itself to
tackling poverty. US congressmen need to be pressured by their constituents to increase
poverty focused aid and make ending global poverty a priority in US foreign policy. If US
government officials see that their constituents care about ending global poverty, they will take
the lead in addressing global poverty.