Understanding the Extent, Composition, and Characteristics of the Poor

Probing deeper into the poverty picture, this Policy Note examines the extent, composition, and characteristics of the poor, using various rounds of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) and Annual Poverty Indicator Survey (APIS) as panel data sets. Understanding these aspects could provide insights that may guide the government in formulating specific types of interventions for different groups of households, especially the chronic and transient poor.Philippines, chronic poor, transient poor, panel data

Improving Access to Affordable Medicines: Looking at Prevailing Prices and Distribution of Village Drugstores in the Philippines

Drugs and medicines account for about half of the total medical out-of-pocket expenses of households. This share of drugs to total medical expenses is much higher for the poor than the rich. Thus, affordability of medicines is an important issue in poverty reduction. Recent efforts to improve affordability of medicines in the country were geared toward price mediation, advocacy campaigns for quality generic drugs, and creation of village drugstores (that is, the Botika ng Bayan and Botika ng Barangay), among others. This report shows how some of these efforts have gone as far as lowering the prices is concerned. It likewise examines the extent of establishment of DOH-initiated village drugstores in the effort to improve physical access to essential medicines. The goal is to identify areas with low access to affordable medicines by mapping out the geographic distribution of village drugstores.Philippines, financial crisis, poverty impacts, school-level test scores, affordable medicines, Botika ng Barangay, Botika ng Bayan

Dynamics of Poverty in the Philippines: Distinguishing the Chronic from the Transient Poor

Poverty incidence among population rose from 24.9 percent in 2003 to 26.4 percent in 2006 and then inched up further to 26.5 percent in 2009. Although this aggregate poverty rate shows only a few percentage points change from 2003 to 2009, this does not mean there are no movements in and out of poverty. Based on a matched panel data obtained from three survey years of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, this paper aims to look into the dynamics of poverty. The main objective is to draw a line between the chronic and transient poor, and to determine the factors that have made people exit poverty and those that dragged many nonpoor households into poverty.Philippines, panel data, poverty analysis, chronic and transient poverty, dynamics of poverty

Chronic and Transient Poverty

The Philippines has been posting progress in terms of poverty reduction since the early 1990s. However, reversal in the trend was observed in 2006. Further worsening of the poverty situation is expected given the various economic and natural shocks (i.e., food and fuel price hikes; global financial and economic crisis; typhoons Milenyo, Reming, Frank, Ondoy, Pepeng; and the recent El Nino) that recently hit the country. Many households, especially those that belong to the bottom 40 percent, are deemed vulnerable to these shocks. Using a panel of households from the different rounds of Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) and Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) from 2003 to 2008, this paper examined the movements in and out of poverty among households. The study provided a description of the extent of chronic and transient poverty as well as the various household characteristics that discriminate among the different groups of households, including the chronic and the transient poor. A panel regression analysis was also explored to identify factors that can predict the income-based poverty status of households. Based on the descriptive and regression analyses, some insights were presented that can guide the government in the formulation of specific types of interventions to different groups of households, especially the transient poor. This is hopefully an attempt to recover the previous gains in poverty reduction and thus attain the MDG target of halving extreme poverty by 2015.Philippines, chronic poor, transient poor, panel data, logistic panel regression

Are We Winning the Fight against Poverty? An Assessment of the Poverty Situation in the Philippines

In 2006, poverty incidence in the Philippines went up by 3 percentage points from 2003, marking a reversal against the downward trend in previous poverty estimates. This upward trend went against expectations after the Philippine economy exhibited a relatively robust performance during this period. The reasons as to why this has happened are explored in this paper. Meanwhile, income inequality measures do not show significant change over the years. Natural disasters and economic crises further add to the already difficult work of reducing poverty. The MDG deadline looms ahead and time is running out in the country`s battle against poverty. In this report, the poverty situation is again revisited and closely examined. It aims to assess whether the country has made any improvements or not and to answer several key questions such as: What should likely be the focus of poverty reduction efforts? Why is it that poverty rose despite the relatively fast economic growth in recent years? What can we learn from this experience?poverty, Philippines, income inequality, decomposition of poverty

A Profile of the Philippine Pharmaceutical Sector

The Philippines is one of the biggest pharmaceutical markets in the ASEAN region, next only to Indonesia and Thailand. It is a lifeline to thousands of Filipino workers and a significant contributor in terms of value of output. This industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. Meanwhile, its output, drugs and medicines, account for 46 percent of the total medical out-of-pocket expenses of Philippine households. For poorer people, this percentage goes up to 55 percent. Making essential drugs and medicines more affordable especially to the poor and underserved is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is therefore essential to examine the profile of the pharmaceutical industry in the country to better understand the supply chain of drugs and medicines for policy formulation purposes. Using administrative data from agencies that have regulative powers over the industry, a profile of the Philippine pharmaceutical industry was developed. As of December 2009, the Food and Drug Administration’s records show that there are 284 drug manufacturers, 438 drug traders, 634 drug importers, 4,719 drug distributors of which 3,956 are wholesalers, and 32,538 retail outlets. Manufacturing is dominated by multinational brand originator giants and numerous local generics/branded generics producers. Meanwhile, trading is done by few large companies and thousands of small retail outlets. The industry players are diverse and formulating policies therefore must take into consideration how each player may be affected by policy issuances.drugs/medicine, Philippines, Geographic Information System (GIS), macroeconomic shock, Philippine pharmaceutical sector