Economic development Essay Example for Free

Economic development Essay Population growth Ââ€" some Filipinos believe that it is natural for every married woman to bear a child in their wombs because they are with their husbands. And this are very wrong beliefs since if you will be reasonable enough, you will realize that having a child is always together with great responsibility that has no end. And that you will realize that having more and more children will cause great scarcity in your family such as you would not be able to send your children to school and you would not be able to provide enough foods so that you children will be healthy and do good in school. Population growth is also the reason for a number of malnourish children in the Philippines. 2. Unemployment Ââ€" this is a very common cause of poverty in the Philippines since there are several Filipinos who are unemployed plus the fact that there are many companies that are affected of the global economic crisis. And the least thing that you can do about unemployment is to find a best way on generating money like you can accept laundry services, plumbing services, or electrical repair services if you are skilled enough to do the job. Then, you could start a certain profitable business like food house or a small store that does not require you much capital so that you will not find it hard to save enough money from the services that you are offering. 3. Governance concern Ââ€" one of the main reasons of poverty in the Philippines is the activities of the corrupt government officials. They are using the money of the people to achieve the power and authority that they wanted to have and once they have it they will automatically take advantage of their power to the point that they will neglect the yoke of the people and set aside their promises when they are just campaigning and try to convince the people to vote for them. 4. Agricultural problems Ââ€" this is the natural cause of the poverty in the Philippines that is because of the wrong activities of people. They ruin the treasure of the nature for their own sake without any idea that the nature they are destroying is the main source of almost all the products that exist in this world. Some of the examples of destroying the nature are the irresponsible disposal of wastes and trash, dynamite fishing, illegal logging and more. 5. Disability Ââ€" this is also one of the possible causes of poverty in the Philippines since more and more people nowadays become disabled because of several illnesses and diseases that arise like AH1N1 virus, SARS, dengue, and more. Disability may be also caused by uncontrolled population growth, for instance, you have ten kids in the house, and can you imagine attending to their needs everyday? Well, definitely not so the tendency is that they are prone to accidents that will cause them to be disabled since they are at very young age that are typically playful. RECOMMENDATION The World Bank suggests several solutions to combat poverty in the Philippines. 1. There is a need to have a strong focus on continued economic growth, driven by openness and macroeconomic stability. 2. Increased market access to the poor could be achieved by promoting tenancy, market-based land reform, and investing in essential rural infrastructure and agriculture extension services. 3. The scarcity of housing and threats to environmental health in urban areas could be reduced by promoting urban land reform and extending water and sanitation services. 4. Quality improvements in primary education and access to primary health services such as immunization and the prevention of water-borne and respiratory diseases are needed. 5. Social safety net programs can be rationalized and the targeting improved by strengthening institutional capacity building and eliminating food price subsidies in favor of targeted income subsidies or food stamps. Some of widely accepted principles in the mainstream development community, at the three descending levels of the world as a whole, Asia as a region, and the Philippines specifically. All three share in common placing poverty reduction at the core of development work. Philippines Level: The Arroyo administrations official development agenda focuses specifically on issues of poverty and unemployment. The key document here is the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP), 2001-2004, which stresses poverty reduction through equitable growth, rural development, and social sector investment. The four primary strategies are: †¢ Macroeconomic stability and equitable growth, using sound fiscal and monetary policies to keep inflation low and avoid surges in unemployment; modernize all sectors through HR development and technology; †¢ Comprehensive HR development, basic education, health, shelter, water, electricity; safety nets for most vulnerable sectors; encouraging poor to participate There are many causes of economic difficulties leading to mass poverty and hunger. One cause could be foreign debts servicing. This means that the Philippines must owe money to the World Bank. More than 60% of the Philippines budget goes to the World Bank. Unequal distribution of land and other resources is another cause that leads to poverty. Out of the whole population, only 20% own and control agricultural lands. Another cause could be under cultivation of agricultural lands. Only 13 million hectares are cultivated. There are about 17 million hectares of land that are not being used. There is a lot of poverty in the Philippines. Some people, called squatters, live near trash mounds and scavenge through the rubble to find materials that they can re-sell. Many are living in extreme poverty and unsanitary conditions. One of the effects this impoverished lifestyle has on them is an extremely short life expectancy. But there are some rays of hope. For one, slow but steady economic improvements are providing jobs in places like call centers. Secondly, charitable organizations like the Philippine Aid Society are growing and working hard to fight poverty. For those who want to do their part to help, consider a financial donation to one of these charities.