Equity

WHAT USED to be only talked about in hushed tones and academic circles is now generally acknowledged: most of the country’s impressive economic gains have been going to the elite. Former NEDA chief Cielito Habito was reported as having said: “… something is structurally wrong. The oligarchy has too much control of the country’s resources.”…

The Philippines surpassed Malaysia and Singapore in a 2012 Japanese survey of most profitable firms in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), President Aquino disclosed on Tuesday.

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said the government’s Conditional Cash-Transfer (CCT) Program will continue but no money will be released for the duration of a ban on disbursement of public funds during the campaign period for the May midterm elections. It added that the move would shield the CCT Program from politics.…

It is not correct to say that the 40 richest Filipino families own 76 percent of our nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). I have recently been widely misquoted as having said so. What I did say, and had first explained in this space nine months ago (“Economic growth for all,” 6/26/12), was that the growth…

MANILA, Philippines – Eleven Filipino businessmen have made it to Forbes’ 2013 list of world billionaires, more than the 6 who were part of the list a year ago.

MANILA, Philippines–More than 93 percent of barangay (village) roads nationwide and nearly 69 percent and 66 percent, respectively, of provincial and national roads remain unpaved.

MANILA – Optimism is soaring that the Philippines is finally becoming an Asian tiger economy, but critics caution a tiny elite that has long dominated is amassing most of the new wealth while the poor miss out.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Social Work and Development’s Conditional Cash Transfer program is set to achieve its goals of promoting investments in the health and education of its beneficiaries, the World Bank reported on Friday.

THE LAST TIME that I spoke before the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) was six years ago, in January 2007, when international confidence in the Philippines was improving because of rosy economic indicators — budget deficit and interest rates were down; inflation was under control; the stock market and foreign exchange reserves were up;…

MANILA – Forget what you learned about poverty causing crime. According to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), crime is more a function of income inequality.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima must have anticipated the ho-hum response of most people to the good news about our GDP growth rate for last year. He told the business group that listened to the Roubini talk, somewhat defensively, that we have to celebrate our small victories.

NEW YORK — A country’s economic success depends on the education, skills, and health of its population. When its young people are healthy and well educated, they can find gainful employment, achieve dignity, and succeed in adjusting to the fluctuations of the global labor market. Businesses invest more, knowing that their workers will be productive.…

The House opposition bloc on Saturday demanded a review of the government’s dole program, called conditional cash transfer (CCT), because it has been ineffective in uplifting the lives of the poorest of the poor.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI urged world leaders on Monday to try to reduce the growing gap between the rich and the poor in regions such as Europe as they reform their economies.

GENEVA – A sluggish global economy hit world wage growth hard last year, taking an especially harsh toll on workers in developed countries, who saw their salaries shrink, the International Labour Organization said Friday.

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Most everyone agrees that the announcement this week of a 7.1 percent growth in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP, or the sum total of goods and services produced by a country) for the third quarter was an unexpected surprise, one that bodes well for the Philippines’ short to medium-term prospects.

MANILA, Philippines — If the high unemployment rate and poverty incidence were to serve as basis for determining economic growth, government’s claim that it accelerated to 7.1 percent for the third quarter of this year sounds incredulous, militant lawmakers said Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s surprising economic growth isn’t just the achievement of the administration of President Benigno Aquino III. It is also the accomplishment of the Arroyo administration.

The Philippines’ Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program has achieved better targeting outcomes compared to similar programs in other countries where it has been implemented for decades, the Asian Development Bank said.

THE PHILIPPINE economy has to grow vigorously and on a sustained basis by 7 to 8% for a decade in order to make a difference in the lives of poor Filipinos. But it is important that all cylinders should be firing simultaneously — agriculture, construction, manufacturing, mining, housing, and other service sectors. Yet, agriculture is…

Invest in initiatives that help low-income groups Tycoon Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala has urged private enterprises to join the bandwagon on “inclusive growth,” saying business initiatives that help address inequality in the country can be profitable.

Despite the Commission on Audit (CoA) reporting huge slippages in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) which is the government’s term for the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, the Palace said the Aquino administration does not have any plan to introduce revisions in the mechanism of the doleout program.

JAKARTA – The Philippines’ performance in meeting its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has remained dismal with barely three years into the deadline to achieve the objectives set by United Nations member-states, according to a UN report.

PRESIDENT Aquino was asked on Monday to explain and account for the P3.77 billion of conditional cash-transfer (CCT) funds which government auditors found to be missing or unaccounted for in 2011.

The commitment of the Asian Development Bank to provide up to $1.8 billion until 2015 to help the Philippines achieve its development goals speaks highly of the success so far of the government initiatives to reduce poverty.

A platform of the Aquino administration is to achieve “inclusive” growth, but an official of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) told an economic forum Monday the Philippines has a long way to go before it can reach this goal.

MANILA – The Philippines is getting “closer” to achieving shared growth for all Filipinos as governance reforms are paying off, the country’s economic managers said on Monday. During the Philippine Economic Briefing, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Baliscan said the improved economic performance in the first semester is an indication that the Aquino administration’s commitment to…

UNCTAD Report explores the links between income distribution, growth and development, arguing that inequality is neither a necessary condition for sound economic growth, nor its natural result. Pro-active fiscal and income policies to reduce income gaps influence economic growth.

WE LIVE in highly interesting and challenging times. On one hand, we have global economies still trying to recover from an economic downturn that started back in 2008 with the global financial crisis. Concerns around the economies of the euro zone as well as the US continue to be front and center in many perception…