WB: Philippines must promote a "more inclusive growth"

The Philippines need to promote " more inclusive growth" to sustain economic development, the World Bank said Thursday.

In a report titled "Philippines: Fostering More Inclusive Growth," the World Bank said that the Philippine government must develop a more investor-friendly climate and increase spending on health and education to ensure that economic growth benefits even the poor.

"More sustained and rapid growth remains a cornerstone for poverty reduction, but growth must become more inclusive through supporting policies in education, labor market, and support for sectors that generate more jobs for poor people," World Bank Country Director Bert Hofman said in a statement.

The acceleration of economic growth since 2001 did not lead to poverty reduction. A third of the country's nearly 100 million population live on less than 2 U.S. dollars a day. The World Bank study said unequal pattern of regional development, intense demographic pressures, the poor's limited access to social services and decreased government spending on social welfare are the main factors that keep poverty level high in the Philippines.

The Washington-based lender proposed that the Philippine government must implement policies that encourage more investments. This will create more jobs, raise incomes and reduce poverty incidence.

To boost investor confidence, the government should narrow the deficit and upgrade the country's infrastructure particularly in transport and electricity.

The World Bank also suggested that the government should invest more on education, health, and social protection services and expand the poor's access to these services.

"Judiciously increasing spending in these sectors, better targeting the programs that would benefit the poor, and improving expenditure management will play an important role in allowing the poor to benefit from growth and to participate in it in the future, " Jehan Arulpragasam, World Bank Country Sector Coordinator for Human Development, said in a statement.

Source:Xinhua