IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/tpr/asiaec/v14y2015i1p202-226.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

In Search of a Strategy for Making Growth More Pro-Poor in the Philippines

Author

Listed:
  • Nobuhiko Fuwa

    (Waseda University Nishi-Waseda)

  • Arsenio M. Balisacan

    (The University of the Philippines and National Economic and Development Authority Guerrero)

  • Fabrizio Bresciani

    (Asia and the Pacific Division International Fund for Agricultural Development)

Abstract

Despite the large and expanding literature on pro-poor growth, quantitative studies identifying potential determinants of pro-poor growth remain scarce. This paper addresses this lacuna in the literature for the case of the Philippines. The main driver of rural poverty reduction has shifted from agricultural to non-agricultural growth in the Philippines, but agricultural investments can be still effective in areas with underdeveloped infrastructure. Non-agricultural income growth, on the other hand, can be made more pro-poor by reducing child mortality, facilitating international labor migration, investing in roads, and reducing income inequality. © 2015 The Earth Institute at Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Suggested Citation

  • Nobuhiko Fuwa & Arsenio M. Balisacan & Fabrizio Bresciani, 2015. "In Search of a Strategy for Making Growth More Pro-Poor in the Philippines," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 14(1), pages 202-226, Winter/Sp.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:asiaec:v:14:y:2015:i:1:p:202-226
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/ASEP_a_00338
    File Function: link to full text PDF
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ravallion, Martin, 1997. "Can high-inequality developing countries escape absolute poverty?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 51-57, September.
    2. Neil McCulloch & Julian Weisbrod & C. Peter Timmer, 2007. "Pathways out of poverty during an economic crisis: An empirical assessment of rural Indonesia," Departmental Discussion Papers 131, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    3. Deininger, Klaus & Squire, Lyn, 1998. "New ways of looking at old issues: inequality and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 259-287.
    4. Ravallion, Martin & Datt, Gaurav, 1996. "How Important to India's Poor Is the Sectoral Composition of Economic Growth?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 10(1), pages 1-25, January.
    5. Foster, Andrew D & Rosenzweig, Mark R, 2004. "Agricultural Productivity Growth, Rural Economic Diversity, and Economic Reforms: India, 1970-2000," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(3), pages 509-542, April.
    6. Stefan Dercon, 2009. "Rural Poverty: Old Challenges in New Contexts," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 24(1), pages 1-28, April.
    7. Matsuyama, Kiminori, 1992. "Agricultural productivity, comparative advantage, and economic growth," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 317-334, December.
    8. World Bank, 2009. "Land Reform, Rural Development, and Poverty in the Philippines : Revisiting the Agenda," World Bank Publications - Reports 18545, The World Bank Group.
    9. Eswaran, Mukesh & Kotwal, Ashok, 1993. "A theory of real wage growth in LDCs," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 243-269, December.
    10. Ravallion, Martin & Chen, Shaohua, 2003. "Measuring pro-poor growth," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 93-99, January.
    11. William R. Cline, 2004. "Trade Policy and Global Poverty," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 379, April.
    12. Peter Timmer & Selvin Akkus, 2008. "The Structural Transformation as a Pathway out of Poverty: Analytics, Empirics and Politics," Working Papers 150, Center for Global Development.
    13. Ravallion, Martin & Chen, Shaohua, 2007. "China's (uneven) progress against poverty," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 1-42, January.
    14. Jonna P. Estudillo & Yasuyuki Sawada & Keijiro Otsuka, 2006. "The Green Revolution, development of labor markets, and poverty reduction in the rural Philippines, 1985–2004," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 35(s3), pages 399-407, November.
    15. Balisacan, Arsenio M. & Fuwa, Nobuhiko, 2004. "Going beyond Crosscountry Averages: Growth, Inequality and Poverty Reduction in the Philippines," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 1891-1907, November.
    16. Christiaensen, Luc & Demery, Lionel & Kuhl, Jesper, 2011. "The (evolving) role of agriculture in poverty reduction--An empirical perspective," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 239-254, November.
    17. Yujiro Hayami & Masao Kikuchi, 2000. "A Rice Village Saga," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-59918-5.
    18. Nobuhiko Fuwa, 2007. "Pathways out of rural poverty: a case study in socio-economic mobility in the rural Philippines," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 31(1), pages 123-144, January.
    19. Ravallion, Martin & Datt, Gaurav, 2002. "Why has economic growth been more pro-poor in some states of India than others?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 381-400, August.
    20. Loayza, Norman V. & Raddatz, Claudio, 2010. "The composition of growth matters for poverty alleviation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 137-151, September.
    21. Arsenio M. Balisacan & Nobuhiko Fuwa, 2007. "Reasserting the Rural Development Agenda: Lessons Learned and Emerging Challenges in Asia," Books on Agricultural Research and Development, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), number 2007:36.
    22. repec:hoo:wpaper:e-92-3 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Ravallion, Martin, 2001. "Growth, Inequality and Poverty: Looking Beyond Averages," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(11), pages 1803-1815, November.
    24. Foster, Andrew D. & Rosenzweig, Mark R., 2008. "Economic Development and the Decline of Agricultural Employment," Handbook of Development Economics, in: T. Paul Schultz & John A. Strauss (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 47, pages 3051-3083, Elsevier.
    25. Ravallion, Martin, 2004. "Pro-poor growth : A primer," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3242, The World Bank.
    26. Kraay, Aart, 2006. "When is growth pro-poor? Evidence from a panel of countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 198-227, June.
    27. Montalvo, Jose G. & Ravallion, Martin, 2010. "The pattern of growth and poverty reduction in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 2-16, March.
    28. Bravo-Ortega, Claudio & Lederman, Daniel, 2005. "Agriculture and national welfare around the world: causality and international heterogeneity since 1960," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3499, The World Bank.
    29. Luc Christiaensen & Lionel Demery, 2007. "Down to Earth : Agriculture and Poverty Reduction in Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6624.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arsenio M. Balisacan, 2019. "Toward a fairer society: inequality and competition policy in developing Asia," Philippine Review of Economics, University of the Philippines School of Economics and Philippine Economic Society, vol. 56(1 and 2), pages 127-146, June and .
    2. Williamson, Jeffrey G., 2017. "Philippine Inequality across the Twentieth Century: Slim Evidence but Fat Questions," CEPR Discussion Papers 12481, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Cuong V. Nguyen & Nguyet M. Pham, 2018. "Economic growth, inequality, and poverty in Vietnam," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 32(1), pages 45-58, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christiaensen, Luc & Demery, Lionel & Kuhl, Jesper, 2011. "The (evolving) role of agriculture in poverty reduction--An empirical perspective," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 239-254, November.
    2. Rui Benfica & Heath Henderson, 2021. "The Effect of the Sectoral Composition of Economic Growth on Rural and Urban Poverty," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(1), pages 248-284, March.
    3. Christiaensen, Luc & Demery, Lionel & Kuhl, Jesper, 2011. "The (evolving) role of agriculture in poverty reduction--An empirical perspective," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 239-254, November.
    4. Christiaensen, Luc & Todo, Yasuyuki, 2014. "Poverty Reduction During the Rural–Urban Transformation – The Role of the Missing Middle," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 43-58.
    5. Ferreira, Francisco H.G. & Leite, Phillippe G. & Ravallion, Martin, 2010. "Poverty reduction without economic growth?: Explaining Brazil's poverty dynamics, 1985-2004," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 20-36, September.
    6. Benfica, R. & Henderson, H., 2018. "IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 23 - The effect of the sectoral composition of economic growth on rural and urban poverty," IFAD Research Series 280072, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    7. Luc Christiaensen & Lionel Demery & Jesper Kühl, 2010. "The (Evolving) Role of Agriculture in Poverty Reduction," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2010-036, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Ligon, Ethan & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2018. "Estimating the Relative Benefits of Agricultural Growth on the Distribution of Expenditures," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 417-428.
    9. Nicoletta Berardi & Federica Marzo, 2017. "The Elasticity of Poverty with respect to Sectoral Growth in Africa," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63(1), pages 147-168, March.
    10. Ryan Edwards, 2015. "Is plantation agriculture good for the poor? Evidence from Indonesia's palm oil expansion," Departmental Working Papers 2015-12, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    11. Stefan Dercon & Douglas Gollin, 2014. "Agriculture in African Development: A Review of Theories and Strategies," CSAE Working Paper Series 2014-22, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    12. Montalvo, Jose G. & Ravallion, Martin, 2010. "The pattern of growth and poverty reduction in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 2-16, March.
    13. Bhattacharyya, Sambit & Resosudarmo, Budy P., 2015. "Growth, Growth Accelerations, and the Poor: Lessons from Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 154-165.
    14. Iniguez-Montiel, Alberto Javier, 2014. "Growth with Equity for the Development of Mexico: Poverty, Inequality, and Economic Growth (1992–2008)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 313-326.
    15. Gustavo Canavire‐Bacarreza & Michael Jetter & Marcos Robles, 2018. "When Does Economic Growth Reduce Poverty and Strengthen the Middle Class? A State‐Level, Sector‐Specific Analysis of Peru," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 84(4), pages 1067-1087, April.
    16. Francisco J. Beltran Tapia & Julio Martinez-Galarrage, 2015. "Inequality and poverty in a developing economy: Evidence from regional data (Spain, 1860-1930)," Working Papers 0078, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    17. Alaa Mohamd Shoukry & Musarrat Jabeen & Khalid Zaman & Showkat Gani & Alamzeb Aamir, 2018. "A note on poverty, growth, and inequality nexus: evidence from a panel of sub-Saharan African countries," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(5), pages 2173-2195, September.
    18. Christiaensen, Luc & Demery, Lionel & Kuhl, Jesper, 2006. "The role of agriculture in poverty reduction an empirical perspective," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4013, The World Bank.
    19. Klasen, Stephan, 2008. "Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction: Measurement Issues using Income and Non-Income Indicators," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 420-445, March.
    20. Facundo Alvaredo & Leonardo Gasparini, 2013. "Recent Trends in Inequality and Poverty in Developing Countries," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0151, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    pro-poor growth; Philippines; rural poverty; non-agricultural growth; agriculture; child mortality; income inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • F00 - International Economics - - General - - - General
    • Q10 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - General
    • O50 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tpr:asiaec:v:14:y:2015:i:1:p:202-226. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: The MIT Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://direct.mit.edu/journals .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.