The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) will hold a public webinar on October 8, 2020, from 2:00 to 4:30 pm. It will feature the PIDS research paper “Poverty, the Middle Class, and Income Distribution” authored by Dr. Jose Ramon G. Albert, Dr. Michael Ralph M. Abrigo, Dr. Francis Mark A. Quimba, and Ms. Jana Flor V. Vizmanos, senior research fellows, and research specialist at PIDS, respectively.
The study simulated the likely effects of contractions in per capita income on poverty and the entire income distribution amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It found that in a medium-case scenario of declines of incomes by 10 percent across the entire income distribution, the number of poor Filipinos can increase by 5.5 million. However, with emergency financial subsidies (i.e., the social amelioration program and the small business wage subsidy in place) that targeted 90 percent of households, the worsening of poverty conditions can be managed so that only 1.5 million would fall into poverty. Tougher conditions of income contraction and a protracted recovery would mean a longer time for low-income Filipinos to move up into the middle-income class.
The study also discussed various policy and data issues. It recommended the review of the official poverty measurement system, including the current use of income over expenditure as the poverty metric and the poverty-line-setting methodology, given the changes in income and expenditure patterns in the past decade (before the onset of COVID-19).
Please visit this link to read the full text of the study.
DOWNLOAD PRESENTATIONS:
Poverty, the Middle Class and Income Distribution amid COVID-19 by Dr. Jose Ramon Albert, Senior Research Fellow, Philippine Institute for Development Studies
Reaction of DSWD Assistant Secretary Joseline Niwane
The recording of this webinar may be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/PIDS.PH/videos/256956769024542.
