Stopping the Cycle of Poverty in the Philippines
STOPPING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY IN THE PHILIPPINES
A Research Paper Presented to
Mr. Al C. Benzon
Department of English
Institute of Arts and Sciences
Far Eastern University, Manila
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course
BE 09201 - Communication Arts Part II
CARLOS, Romina T.
FARIÑAS, Justine Louise R.
FELICITAS, Sherilyn D.
LIM, Kellie Gwen J.
October 2011
Table of Contents
Content Page
Chapter 1…………………………………………………………………………………..... 1 I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………….... 1 A. Background of the Study………………………………………………………... 4 B. Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………….... 7 C. Significance of the Study……………………………………………………..... 8 D. Scope and Limitations.................................................................. 10 E. Definitions of Terms..................................................................... 11
Chapter 2.............................................................................................. 15 I. Review of Related Literature and Studies...................................... 15 A. Literature..................................................................................... 15 * Foreign Literature................................................................ 15 * Local Literature................................................................... 18 B. Studies * Foreign Studies.................................................................... 22 * Local Studies....................................................................... 23 C. Relevance of Literature and Studies.............................................. 24 D. Theoretical Framework................................................................. 25 E. Conceptual Framework................................................................. 28
Chapter 3.............................................................................................. 29
I. Research Methodology and Materials............................................ 29 A. Research Design........................................................................... 29 B. Research Locale............................................................................ 29 C. Respondents of the Study............................................................. 30 D. Research Instrument.................................................................... 30
Chapter 4.............................................................................................. 31
I. Problems Encountered.................................................................. 31 II. Results and Findings.................................................................... 33 III. Conclusion................................................................................... 38
Appendix............................................................................................... 39 * Survey Questionnaire........................................................... 39
Chapter 1
I. Introduction
Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to being unable to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live in absolute poverty today. Relative poverty refers to lacking a usual or socially acceptable level of resources or income as compared with others within a society or country.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty)
Poverty, food prices and hunger are inextricably linked. Poverty causes hunger. Not every poor person is hungry, but almost all hungry people are poor. Millions live with hunger and malnourishment because they simply cannot afford to buy enough food, cannot afford nutritious foods or cannot afford the farming supplies they need to grow enough good food of their own. Hunger can be viewed as a dimension of extreme poverty. It is often called the most severe and critical manifestation of poverty.
(http://www.thp.org/learn_more/issues/poverty)
1 In economics, the cycle of poverty is the "set of factors or events by which poverty, once started, is likely to continue unless there is outside intervention."
The cycle of poverty has been defined as a phenomenon where poor families become trapped in poverty for at least three generations. These families have either limited or no resources. There are many disadvantages that collectively work in a circular process making it virtually impossible for individuals to break the cycle. This occurs when poor people do not have the resources necessary to get out of poverty, such as financial capital, education, or connections. In other words, poverty-stricken individuals experience disadvantages as a result of their poverty, which in turn increases their poverty. This would mean that the poor remain poor throughout their lives. This cycle has also been referred to as a "pattern" of behaviors and situations which cannot easily be changed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_poverty)
Economic aspects of poverty focus on material needs, typically including the necessities of daily living, such as food, clothing, shelter, or safe drinking water. Poverty in this sense may be understood as a condition in which a person or community is lacking in the basic needs for a minimum standard of well-being and life, particularly as a result of a persistent lack of income.
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Analysis of social aspects of poverty links conditions of scarcity to aspects of the distribution of resources and power in a society and recognizes that poverty may be a function of the diminished "capability" of people to live the kinds of lives they value. The social aspects of poverty may include lack of access to information, education, health care, or political power.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty)
3 A. Background of the Study Poverty is a problem everywhere even in developed nations, but more widespread in the Philippines. According to one article from UN, 30% of the Philippine population is living below poverty line, and a bigger chunk of the remaining percent, is living on the poverty threshold.
The Population Commission (PopCom) said there are 30.6 million Filipinos or 6.12 million families who are suffering from poverty. There are about 77 million Filipinos today, and this number is growing by 2.05 percent annually. This means that some 1.5 million Filipinos are born every year, 600,000 of whom to poor parents. Some 32.5 million Filipinos, comprising 66.3 percent of the population, are considered matured enough to work. But 3.3 million of these people, or 10.1 percent of the workforce, cannot find jobs while 5.2 million others, or 17.7 percent, have no regular source of income.
Among Southeast Asian countries, poverty incidence is most extreme in the Philippines where some 15.3 million Filipinos (half of the poor population) wake up every morning without food on the table.
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These people are called subsistence individuals or whose income cannot provide for basic food requirements. PopCom's data is even conservative because in its interpretation, a family of six earning a total of P72, 000 a year is not considered poor. In contrast, a study conducted by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) pegged the minimum income that a family of six must earn annually at P191,874 in order to live decently in Metro Manila.
The performance of the Philippines with respect to poverty reduction has been very modest. While poverty incidence has declined over the past 15 years, the number of the poor has actually increased. In poverty’s other dimensions improvements were noted, some large and some moderate. For example, health status of 0-5 year-old children improved slightly while infant and child mortality rates have declined significantly. Educational status of the population has also improved significantly. Literacy rates have gone up from the period 1989-1994 while school participation rates have been increasing over time. Access to basic facilities has also been increasing. In summary, however, much is still needed to improve the lives of the people especially the poor. In answer to this, poverty reduction has been the centerpiece program of the administration. Reducing poverty, however, should be accompanied by a good poverty monitoring systems. Poverty monitoring provides government planners, policy
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makers and local leaders with data on which to base their social and economic development plans and programs. In addition, it is also used in guiding the implementation and continuing analysis of policies and programs, so that timely action can be taken to address the weaknesses/problems detected. The existing poverty monitoring systems in the Philippines do provide essential information needed by both national and local governments as basis for their poverty reduction plans, strategies, and policies. There are weaknesses such as frequency of data collection and levels of disaggregation. There have been some initiatives to address these data gaps. One such initiative is the development of monitoring system at the community level. This is to strengthen the capacity of local government in diagnosing poverty at their localities since the national statistical offices cannot provide for all the data requirements due to resource constraints. The information has been helpful in identifying unmet needs at the local level and this has been the basis for action in some of the barangays.
6 B. Statement of the Problem
This study aims to answer these questions:
1. What are the main causes of poverty in the Philippines? 2. Why does poverty persist in the Philippines? 3. What can we do to escape or somehow eliminate poverty? 4. What are the different difficulties faced by the Filipinos that lead to poverty?
7 C. Significance of the Study
This section will provide brief description on the various significances of the study and will answer to the questions “Who will benefit from this study?” and “How will the readers may benefit from this study?”
College Students of Economics Courses. This research paper would be able to help students in college who are taking up Economics. Students would benefit from this study because they would be able to make use of the information in research in preparing for thesis and the research paper is in line with their specialization.
Future Researchers. This study is crucial for future researchers to make similar studies such as poverty, and other economic crisis.
Government. This study is significant especially to the government in order for them to take actions so that the poverty in the Philippines will be lessened.
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Poverty Reduction Programs/Organizations. This study is significant and will benefit the poverty relief organizations for them to be more aware and to make more ways in lessening the poverty in the Philippines.
9 D. Scope and Limitations
With poverty reduction as main goal of the government, the demand for poverty statistics has become more important. Several poverty monitoring systems are being conducted both at the national and community level providing income and non-income based measures of poverty. These have become the basis for social and economic development plans and programs of national and local governments.
The objectives of this paper are to examine the poverty situation in the Philippines and to assess the country’s poverty reduction strategy and policy. In addition, it aims to analyze the current state of poverty monitoring covering national and community levels.
10 E. Definition of Terms
This part of the introduction will enlighten the readers on some jargons. We find terms that will help readers to understand more about the study.
Macroeconomics. Greek prefix "macr(o)-" meaning "large" + "economics") is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of the entire economy. This includes a national, regional, or global economy. Macroeconomists study aggregated indicators such as GDP, unemployment rates, and price indices to understand how the whole economy functions. Macroeconomists develop models that explain the relationship between such factors as national income, output, consumption, unemployment, inflation, savings, investment, international trade and international finance.
Government. Refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized. Government is the means by which state policy is enforced, as well as the mechanism for determining the policy of the state.
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Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Government of the Philippines' Midterm Progress Report shows the country is on track to meet 2015 targets on reducing child mortality, promoting gender equality, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation. However, the country needs to increase its efforts to meet universal primary education and maternal health goals.
Economic growth. A necessary precondition for poverty reduction, but the quality of that growth is important, and not all growth is pro-poor.
Philippine Empirical Record. A record demonstrates that the poverty headcount declines when the growth rate of average family income is higher than the rate of inflation.
Flipside. An increase in the poverty headcount when the reverse is true, whether or not there was overall economic growth.
Poverty threshold/Poverty line. The minimum level of income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate standard of living in a given country.
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In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries.
Poverty trap. A situation in which poverty outcomes reinforce themselves, acting as causes of poverty. The poverty trap can be defined at individual or household level, or at national level. An example of a poverty trap at the individual level is the situation where an unemployed person refrains from taking a job because their earnings will disqualify then from claiming unemployment benefits or raise their tax liability, and as a result, their net income will fall.
Hunger. The most commonly used term to describe the social condition of people who frequently experience the physical sensation of desiring food. Rises in the costs of living make poor people less able to afford items. Poor people spend a greater portion of their budgets on food than richer people. As a result, poor households and those near the poverty threshold can be particularly vulnerable to increases in food prices.
Education. In the general sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual.
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In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another. Poverty often drastically affects children's success in school. A child's "home activities, preferences, mannerisms" must align with the world and in the cases that they do not these students are at a disadvantage in the school and most importantly the classroom. Therefore, it is safe to state that children who live at or below the poverty level will have far less success educationally than children who live above the poverty line. Poor children have a great deal less healthcare and this ultimately results in many absences from the academic year.
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Chapter 2
II. Review of Related Literature and Studies This chapter discusses pertinent and substantial local and foreign literature and studies, written and conducted by some persons of authority in the field of poverty reduction that have a very significant bearing in this study.
A. Literature
FOREIGN LITERATURE
The World Bank Group, “Urban Poverty”, Poverty Reduction Sourcebook, 2001. This article was addressed to both stakeholders engaged in countrywide poverty strategies and local-level participants in such strategic exercises for their city. The article gave a brief orientation on the two of its major themes, namely. Understanding the urban poverty and addressing the urban poverty. In addition, it outlined the definitions on urban poverty and the measures to be undertaken to monitor it. Likewise, stressed the indicators of urban poverty.
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Furthermore the article summarized the main policies and institutional, elements pertinent to urban poverty reduction, both for supporting widely shared growth with equity and sustaining poverty-targeted measures at scale.
Asian Development Bank, “Fighting Poverty in Asia and the Pacific; The Poverty Reduction Strategy”, Asian Development Bank Policy Papers, 1999. The article imparted very important information on the condition of poverty in Asia and in the Pacific. It discussed the nature of poverty, the framework of poverty reduction, and the key elements of framework. Also, the article suggested feasible programs of action that need to be undertaken by both local and national government of a particular state situated either in Asia or In the Pacific for the suppression of the worsening conditions of the society brought by poverty. Fujimori began implementing structural policies in the early 1990’s primarily zeroing the fight against poverty; the country was able to achieve to act extreme poverty in half by the year 2000.
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Miller, Juanita E., “Defining Poverty”, Poverty Fact Sheet Series, Ohio State University, 1996. This fact sheet aimed to increase one’s knowledge about poverty. Measuring poverty is difficult because poverty is a complex issue. The current measures for poverty does not take into account all of the related factors. The poverty measure or poverty line does not accurately define family resources. Family resources are defined as cash receipts and do not reflect in kind benefits the family receives such as food stamps. The article was conducted in response on the poverty problems experienced by the citizens of Ohio. It presented statistics on various measures/indicators of poverty way back 1995. It also gave a brief discussion on poverty threshold and guidelines - two of the major components that primarily support this study.
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LOCAL LITERATURE
Ramos, Fidel V., “The Continuing Revolution: Meeting the Challenges of Development and Poverty Reduction”, Volume 9, 2001. Our world may never completely see the equal distribution of wealth, or the delivery of socio-economic justice to all. But we can expect to celebrate a time where those who can work will have jobs that pay respectable wages – enough to support their families, enough to help neighbors in need, enough to make their communities a better place in which to live. When a country is strong economically, other countries benefit. When a community is strong economically, its residents thrive.
In the Philippines, signs of industry and patience abound – even in shantytowns and remote rural communities. Everywhere you turn, you see pushcart vendors making do – selling humble products for small profit. You see entire families searching garbage for plastic, paper, glass and metal and other discarded items of possible value to sell to recycling plants. And women selling loads of fruits on baskets balanced on their heads.
18 Yet, despite this constant labor, little has changed through the years for many who are poor. So many hardworking families remain hungry and ill. So many children have to work for the family’s bread instead of going to school. For some communities, generation after another, their legacy is poverty.
People Empowerment: Society and government reaching out
When the concept of human development was first introduces in national planning and in United Nations programs, we sensed that it had a basic affinity with sustaining our democracy in the Philippines – which we won in a peaceful “People Power” revolution in February 1986. As we sought to institutionalize “people empowerment,” many of us began to realize that human development is the key measure of the progress we make in empowering ordinary Filipinos, many of whom are poor.
Empowerment is about common folk participating in decision making that directly affects their families and communities. It also means being represented in policy bodies where their well-being, interests, opportunities and potentials are recognized and enhanced.
Macroedit for working capital
19 Sadly, in the Philippines and in other developing nations, the demand for credit extended by loan sharks far exceeds the supply of “microedit”. God willing, as microenterprise development expands and reaches a greater number of families, the need for exploitative lenders will diminish and the loan shark becomes an endangered species – and perhaps, one day will disappear.
Microedit for working capital makes the big difference; offers the honorable, self-help solution to poverty; and fuels radical change in the lives of the poor and their communities. Five hundred, a thousand, five thousand pesos worth of microedit – depending on the nature of the business – will make all those man-hours of daily effort begin to count. Then a sturdy structure can be built upon a foundation of fairness, reliability and mutual benefit.
Summing up: The challenge to all
On a macro scale, it is only by recognizing the common bonds of humanity, which link us that we can mitigate the poverty and the deprivation generated by narrow nationalism, ignorance that breeds isolation, petty partisan politics, tribal rivalries, and religious extremism. Democracy thrives in healthy economies and vice versa.
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When people are poor and weak, they have neither time nor energy to defend their basic human rights as free men and women who must have a say in their country’s policies and leadership.
In the Philippines, to vote, a citizen must write in the candidates’ name on the ballot. This requires a certain level of basic education. The illiterate suffer the indignity of having to ask for help – although their lack of education is really due to their poverty, not the absence of the motivation to learn. When people work twelve to fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, they have no time and little energy to discuss politics or governance, no way to make educated choices.
When democracy frays, other political systems win – and the world has had enough of totalitarianism and terrorist regimes. Democracy begins in the communities and villages. This is where humanity loses or wins. This is where we need to put our muscle, minds, and our programs that empower people.
Empowering people, enriching communities, strengthening the voices of those we have not heard from before – all these are opportunity’s gift to the Philippines and to 24 other developing countries around the world.
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The poor need a chance, a working chance to lead lives of productivity. That is what they want. And that is what we want for them.
B. Studies
FOREIGN STUDIES
Dessalien, Renata Lok, “Review of Poverty Concepts and Indicators”, UN Publications on Poverty, 2002. This paper gives an overview on the different concepts and approaches to these measurements. Furthermore, it dealt with the variation of concepts to provide the multi dimensional nature of poverty. Likewise, this paper reviewed the main indicators of poverty existed overtime, together with their strengths and weaknesses.
World Bank, “Philippines - Poverty Assessments”, World Bank Reports (ER 20498), Volume 1 and 2, 2002. The study focused on the nature of poverty and how to alleviate or to suppress it, it also gave a view on the recent developments on poverty reduction in the Philippines. Likewise, it evaluated the projects, aiming to lessen poverty in the 90’s, conducted by the government and assessed how effective or deficient these endeavors were.
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Baker, Judy L., “Evaluating the Impact Development Projects on Poverty: A Handbook for Practitioners”, World Bank Reports (20745), 2002. The study focused on the need/necessity of having an evaluation of projects aiming to alleviate poverty depending on the impact of these projects to the poor.
LOCAL STUDIES
Orbeta, Aniceto C., “Structural Adjustment and Poverty Alleviation in the Philippines”, Philippine Institute for Development Studies Book 1996 (DP 1994-04), 1996. This paper reviewed the Philippine structural adjustment and poverty alleviation experience. It also gave a review of the existing analyses of the impact of structural adjustment programs on poverty. Furthermore, the study provided a brief description of the development experience of the country, including the poverty alleviation initiatives.
23 C. Relevance of Literature and Studies reviewed to the present study
In this part of research paper, we point out how each of the studies reviewed related to the present study. Based on information we gathered, it is very closely related to the present study because we all know that this is a very serious case especially in our country Philippines. In literature, the article of Asian Development Bank (1999) gave very important information about condition of poverty in Asia and in the Pacific. It discussed the nature of poverty, the framework of poverty reduction, and the key elements of framework. Also, the article suggested feasible programs of action for the suppression of the worsening conditions of the society brought by poverty. In a like manner, in study, the article of World Bank; Volume 1 and 2 (2002), the study focused on the nature of poverty and how to alleviate or to suppress it, it also gave a view on the recent developments on poverty reduction in the Philippines. Also, it evaluated projects, aiming to lessen poverty conducted by the government. So, as we observed the information, there is a relationship between literature and study that we gathered.
24 D. Theoretical Framework
THE THEORIES OF POVERTY
Theories of poverty can be broadly classified into two types: cultural and structural. Cultural theories find the explanation for poverty in the traits of the poor themselves. These theories assert it is the valuation, attitudinal, and behavioral patterns of the poor which prevent them from being socially mobile. In contrast, structural theories explain poverty in terms of the conditions under which the poor live: unemployment, underemployment, poor education, and poor health. The distinctive traits of the poor so central to the explanation of the cultural theorists are, for the structural theorists, responses or adaptations to the hostility of the structural conditions the poor face. Structural theorists fully accept the cultural theorists' characterization of the poor; they merely place another interpretation on it.
Theories of Poverty: The Culture of Poverty
According to Oscar Lewis, the culture of poverty constitutes a "design for living" that is passed on from generation to the next. Individuals feel marginalized, helpless and inferior, and adopt an attitude of living for the present. They are fatalistic.
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Families are characterized by high divorce rates, with mothers and children abandoned; they become matrifocal families headed by women. People adopting this culture of poverty do not participate in community life or join political parties; they make little use of banks, hospitals and the like. According to Lewis, the culture of poverty perpetuates poverty: it "tends to perpetuate itself from generation to generation because of its effect on children. By the time slum children are aged six or seven, they have usually absorbed the basic values and attitudes of their subculture and are not psychologically geared to take full advantage of changing conditions or increased opportunities which may occur in their lifetime. However, Lewis regards the culture of poverty as applicable to Third World countries, or countries in the early stages of industrialization, and claims that it is not prevalent in advanced capitalist societies.
Theories of Poverty: Individualistic Theories
Herbert Spencer, blamed poverty on the poor. He claimed that the poor were lazy, and those who did not want to work should not be allowed to eat. He attributed poverty to bad moral character. He argued that the State should intervene as little as possible. It was he that coined the phrase, "the survival of the fittest". This attitude still prevails today, and Golding and Middleton claim that newspapers regularly report benefit claimants as "scroungers".
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However, this attitude seems to be in some decline. According to a survey conducted by the European Commission into attitudes in 1976 43% of British people blamed poverty on laziness compared to 18% in 1989. Furthermore, Britain was the country where people were most likely to blame poverty on the individual characteristics of the poor.
27 E. Conceptual Framework
STOPPING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Our main objective in this research study is to examine the poverty situation in the Philippines and to assess the country’s poverty reduction strategy and policy.
We decided to conduct surveys to the students of FEU in different courses. They will be our respondents to help us continue conducting our research paper.
1. What are the main causes of poverty in the Philippines?
2. Why does poverty persist in the Philippines?
3. What can we do to escape or somehow eliminate poverty?
4. What are the different difficulties faced by the Filipinos that lead to poverty?
Conducting that kind of method, this will serve a big help for us to come up with good results in our research study. Those researches that we made, the readers can be inspired and be more knowledgeable about the poverty here in our country. The government can be wake up from deep sleep and see the problem of increasing the percent of poverty and make a solution about it.
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Chapter 3
I. Research Methodology This chapter describes the methods that will be use in our study. This will also describes the research design, the locale, the respondents, the population, and the data gathering procedure, the instruments, and the treatment of data. This part will serves us a big help to solve and end our research paper.
A. Research Design
This study entitled “Stopping the Cycle of Poverty in the Philippines” utilized the survey approach of research precisely the descriptive method. We will accumulate existing information and data regarding ways to at least alleviate or suppress poverty.
B. Research Locale
We decided to conduct surveys to the students of Far Eastern University in different courses, institutes, and year levels. They will be our respondents to help us continue conducting our research paper.
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C. Respondents of the Study
We need 30 respondents from Far Eastern University in different courses, institutes, and year levels to use and conduct the said survey.
D. Research Instrument
We decided to make or use questionnaires that may have something to do with our research questions as an instrument to be answer by the respondents.
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Chapter 4
I. Problems Encountered
In making the research paper, we will encounter different problems. Sometimes, in doing the research paper, we cannot avoid mistakes. These are the problems we encountered as we go along in making our research paper.
Time Management. As a student, lacking of time in doing a research paper is one of the problems we encountered. It’s hard to find free time especially when you have lots of things to do inside the campus.
Looking for Related Reviews, Literature, and Studies. In finding or looking for related reviews, literature, and studies, it is hard for us to look over the internet and books which is needed in the research paper that you must or able to relate in our daily lives. In looking for those things is one of the most difficult parts in doing the research paper.
Schedule. In terms of schedule, you must set the date and time in doing your research. It is the same as the Time Management.
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Financial Expenditure. In doing our research, money is always needed in terms of printing papers or printing the final output. There are times that we are having difficulties about this, because of problems financially and in dividing the amount that we spent.
32 II. Results and Findings
1. How does poverty affect you and your family?
a. b. Greatly – (Where 6 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) c. Moderately – (Where 12 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) d. Slightly – (Where 11 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) e. Not at all - (Where 1 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
2. How big a problem is poverty in our society today?
a. b. A big problem – (Where 25 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) c. Somewhat of a problem - (Where 4 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) d. A small problem - (Where 1 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
e. Not a problem at all - (Where 0 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
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3. How satisfied are you with the way the economy is going these days
a. b. Very satisfied – (Where 0 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) c. Somewhat satisfied - (Where 8 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) d. Not very satisfied - (Where 16 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) e. Not satisfied at all – (Where 6 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
4. In your opinion, which is the bigger cause of poverty today?
a. People are not doing enough to help themselves out of poverty – (Where 21 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) b. Circumstances beyond their control cause them to be poor – (Where 9 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
34 5. If the government were willing to spend whatever it thought was necessary to eliminate poverty in the Philippines, do you think that this is something that could be accomplished, or not?
a. b. Yes – (Where 17 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) c. No – (Where 13 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
6. Here are some detailed questions about poverty. For each of the following, please tell if this is a major cause of poverty (1), a minor cause of poverty (2), or not a cause at all (3). Put 1,2,3
a. Drug abuse b. Medical bills c. Too many job being part time or low wage d. Too many single-parent families e. A shortage of jobs f. The welfare system g. Too many immigrants h. Poor people lacking motivation i. Decline in moral values j. Poor quality of public schools
| A. | B. | C. | D. | E. | F. | G. | H. | I. | J. | 1 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | | 4 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
* * Letter E, which is A shortage of jobs is the Major cause of poverty according to the out of 30 respondents of FEU students. * Letters B (Medical Bills), C (Too many job being part time or low wage), and D (Too many single-parent) were the Minor cause of poverty according to the out of 30 respondents of FEU students. * Letter G, which is Too many immigrants is the not-cause-at-all according to the out of 30 respondents of FEU students.
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7. If you mentioned more than one item as a major cause, what is it?
a. b. Drug abuse c. Medical bills d. Too many job being part time or low wage e. Too many single-parent families f. A shortage of jobs g. The welfare system h. Too many immigrants i. Poor people lacking motivation j. Decline in moral values k. Poor quality of public schools
| A. | B. | C. | D. | E. | F. | G. | H. | I. | J. | Major Cause | 2 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
* The table shows the more mentioned item as a major cause. Letter E, which is A SHORTAGE OF JOBS. It shows that among the 30 respondents of FEU students whom we surveyed are considering
SHORTAGE OF JOBS in our country as a Major cause of poverty.
8. Which of the following statements comes closer to your own views?
a. Poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return - (Where 12 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) b. Poor people have hard lives because government benefits don’t go far enough to help them live decently - (Where 18 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
36 9. Do you think government programs that try to improve the condition of poor people in this country are generally
a. Making things better - (Where
9 out of 30 respondents of
FEU students chose this letter) b. Making things worse - (Where
5 out of 30 respondents of
FEU students chose this letter) c. Not having much impact one way or another - (Where 16 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
10. Would you be willing to pay more taxes to pay for more of such government spending to help the poor?
a. Yes - (Where 11 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) b. No – (Where 19 out of 30
Respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
37 III. Conclusion
The overall answer of this research study is that the major cause of poverty in the Philippines is the shortage of jobs offered. What happens later is beyond their expectations; they become jobless, homeless, and the worse impact is that they are unable to return to their villages for they don't even have money to return. Consider the magnitude of poverty. Oftentimes, only the poverty headcount (the poverty incidence) is considered in making statements about progress in poverty reduction. The findings confirm that there can be considerable shifts in poverty status, even when the overall headcount remains more or less the same. Out of 30 respondents, 19 were not willing to pay more taxes to the government to help the poor. I guess the reason why they didn’t agree is because they are not sure if the taxes they will pay will be straight to the poor. Majority of the respondents are not having much impact one way or another in government programs that try to improve the condition of poor people in this country. The result of this research is that our country needs improvement and needs an immediate action to help lessen the poverty.
38 Appendix Far Eastern University
Morayta, Manila
STOPPING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Survey Questions
Name (optional): Institute:
Gender: Course:
1. How does poverty affect you and your family? a. Greatly b. Moderately c. Slightly d. Not at all
2. How big a problem is poverty in our society today? a. A big problem b. Somewhat of a problem c. A small problem d. Not a problem at all
3. How satisfied are you with the way the economy is going these days? a. Very satisfied b. Somewhat satisfied c. No very satisfied d. Not satisfied at all
4. In your opinion, which is the bigger cause of poverty today? a. People are not doing enough to help themselves out of poverty b. Circumstances beyond their control cause them to be poor 5. If the government were willing to spend whatever it thought was necessary to eliminate poverty in the Philippines, do you think that this is something that could be accomplished, or not? a. Yes b. No
39 6. Here are some detailed questions about poverty. For each of the following, please tell if this is a major cause of poverty (1), a minor cause of poverty (2), or not a cause at all (3). Put 1, 2, or 3. a. Drug abuse b. Medical bills c. Too many jobs being part time or low wage d. Too many single-parent families e. A shortage of jobs f. The welfare system g. Too many immigrants h. Poor people lacking motivation i. Decline in moral values j. Poor quality of public schools
7. If you mentioned more than one item as a major cause, what is it? a. Drug abuse b. Medical bills c. Too many jobs being part time or low wage d. Too many single-parent families e. A shortage of jobs f. The welfare system g. Too many immigrants h. Poor people lacking motivation i. Decline in moral values j. Poor quality of public schools
8. Which of the following statements comes closer to your own views? a. Poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return. b. Poor people have hard lives because government benefits don’t go far enough to help them live decently. 9. Do you think government programs that try to improve the condition of poor people in this country are generally a. Making things better b. Making things worse c. Not having much impact one way or another
10. Would you be willing to pay more in taxes to pay for more of such government spending to help the poor? a. Yes b. No 40
A Research Paper Presented to
Mr. Al C. Benzon
Department of English
Institute of Arts and Sciences
Far Eastern University, Manila
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course
BE 09201 - Communication Arts Part II
CARLOS, Romina T.
FARIÑAS, Justine Louise R.
FELICITAS, Sherilyn D.
LIM, Kellie Gwen J.
October 2011
Table of Contents
Content Page
Chapter 1…………………………………………………………………………………..... 1 I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………….... 1 A. Background of the Study………………………………………………………... 4 B. Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………….... 7 C. Significance of the Study……………………………………………………..... 8 D. Scope and Limitations.................................................................. 10 E. Definitions of Terms..................................................................... 11
Chapter 2.............................................................................................. 15 I. Review of Related Literature and Studies...................................... 15 A. Literature..................................................................................... 15 * Foreign Literature................................................................ 15 * Local Literature................................................................... 18 B. Studies * Foreign Studies.................................................................... 22 * Local Studies....................................................................... 23 C. Relevance of Literature and Studies.............................................. 24 D. Theoretical Framework................................................................. 25 E. Conceptual Framework................................................................. 28
Chapter 3.............................................................................................. 29
I. Research Methodology and Materials............................................ 29 A. Research Design........................................................................... 29 B. Research Locale............................................................................ 29 C. Respondents of the Study............................................................. 30 D. Research Instrument.................................................................... 30
Chapter 4.............................................................................................. 31
I. Problems Encountered.................................................................. 31 II. Results and Findings.................................................................... 33 III. Conclusion................................................................................... 38
Appendix............................................................................................... 39 * Survey Questionnaire........................................................... 39
Chapter 1
I. Introduction
Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to being unable to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live in absolute poverty today. Relative poverty refers to lacking a usual or socially acceptable level of resources or income as compared with others within a society or country.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty)
Poverty, food prices and hunger are inextricably linked. Poverty causes hunger. Not every poor person is hungry, but almost all hungry people are poor. Millions live with hunger and malnourishment because they simply cannot afford to buy enough food, cannot afford nutritious foods or cannot afford the farming supplies they need to grow enough good food of their own. Hunger can be viewed as a dimension of extreme poverty. It is often called the most severe and critical manifestation of poverty.
(http://www.thp.org/learn_more/issues/poverty)
1 In economics, the cycle of poverty is the "set of factors or events by which poverty, once started, is likely to continue unless there is outside intervention."
The cycle of poverty has been defined as a phenomenon where poor families become trapped in poverty for at least three generations. These families have either limited or no resources. There are many disadvantages that collectively work in a circular process making it virtually impossible for individuals to break the cycle. This occurs when poor people do not have the resources necessary to get out of poverty, such as financial capital, education, or connections. In other words, poverty-stricken individuals experience disadvantages as a result of their poverty, which in turn increases their poverty. This would mean that the poor remain poor throughout their lives. This cycle has also been referred to as a "pattern" of behaviors and situations which cannot easily be changed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_poverty)
Economic aspects of poverty focus on material needs, typically including the necessities of daily living, such as food, clothing, shelter, or safe drinking water. Poverty in this sense may be understood as a condition in which a person or community is lacking in the basic needs for a minimum standard of well-being and life, particularly as a result of a persistent lack of income.
2
Analysis of social aspects of poverty links conditions of scarcity to aspects of the distribution of resources and power in a society and recognizes that poverty may be a function of the diminished "capability" of people to live the kinds of lives they value. The social aspects of poverty may include lack of access to information, education, health care, or political power.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty)
3 A. Background of the Study Poverty is a problem everywhere even in developed nations, but more widespread in the Philippines. According to one article from UN, 30% of the Philippine population is living below poverty line, and a bigger chunk of the remaining percent, is living on the poverty threshold.
The Population Commission (PopCom) said there are 30.6 million Filipinos or 6.12 million families who are suffering from poverty. There are about 77 million Filipinos today, and this number is growing by 2.05 percent annually. This means that some 1.5 million Filipinos are born every year, 600,000 of whom to poor parents. Some 32.5 million Filipinos, comprising 66.3 percent of the population, are considered matured enough to work. But 3.3 million of these people, or 10.1 percent of the workforce, cannot find jobs while 5.2 million others, or 17.7 percent, have no regular source of income.
Among Southeast Asian countries, poverty incidence is most extreme in the Philippines where some 15.3 million Filipinos (half of the poor population) wake up every morning without food on the table.
4
These people are called subsistence individuals or whose income cannot provide for basic food requirements. PopCom's data is even conservative because in its interpretation, a family of six earning a total of P72, 000 a year is not considered poor. In contrast, a study conducted by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) pegged the minimum income that a family of six must earn annually at P191,874 in order to live decently in Metro Manila.
The performance of the Philippines with respect to poverty reduction has been very modest. While poverty incidence has declined over the past 15 years, the number of the poor has actually increased. In poverty’s other dimensions improvements were noted, some large and some moderate. For example, health status of 0-5 year-old children improved slightly while infant and child mortality rates have declined significantly. Educational status of the population has also improved significantly. Literacy rates have gone up from the period 1989-1994 while school participation rates have been increasing over time. Access to basic facilities has also been increasing. In summary, however, much is still needed to improve the lives of the people especially the poor. In answer to this, poverty reduction has been the centerpiece program of the administration. Reducing poverty, however, should be accompanied by a good poverty monitoring systems. Poverty monitoring provides government planners, policy
5
makers and local leaders with data on which to base their social and economic development plans and programs. In addition, it is also used in guiding the implementation and continuing analysis of policies and programs, so that timely action can be taken to address the weaknesses/problems detected. The existing poverty monitoring systems in the Philippines do provide essential information needed by both national and local governments as basis for their poverty reduction plans, strategies, and policies. There are weaknesses such as frequency of data collection and levels of disaggregation. There have been some initiatives to address these data gaps. One such initiative is the development of monitoring system at the community level. This is to strengthen the capacity of local government in diagnosing poverty at their localities since the national statistical offices cannot provide for all the data requirements due to resource constraints. The information has been helpful in identifying unmet needs at the local level and this has been the basis for action in some of the barangays.
6 B. Statement of the Problem
This study aims to answer these questions:
1. What are the main causes of poverty in the Philippines? 2. Why does poverty persist in the Philippines? 3. What can we do to escape or somehow eliminate poverty? 4. What are the different difficulties faced by the Filipinos that lead to poverty?
7 C. Significance of the Study
This section will provide brief description on the various significances of the study and will answer to the questions “Who will benefit from this study?” and “How will the readers may benefit from this study?”
College Students of Economics Courses. This research paper would be able to help students in college who are taking up Economics. Students would benefit from this study because they would be able to make use of the information in research in preparing for thesis and the research paper is in line with their specialization.
Future Researchers. This study is crucial for future researchers to make similar studies such as poverty, and other economic crisis.
Government. This study is significant especially to the government in order for them to take actions so that the poverty in the Philippines will be lessened.
8
Poverty Reduction Programs/Organizations. This study is significant and will benefit the poverty relief organizations for them to be more aware and to make more ways in lessening the poverty in the Philippines.
9 D. Scope and Limitations
With poverty reduction as main goal of the government, the demand for poverty statistics has become more important. Several poverty monitoring systems are being conducted both at the national and community level providing income and non-income based measures of poverty. These have become the basis for social and economic development plans and programs of national and local governments.
The objectives of this paper are to examine the poverty situation in the Philippines and to assess the country’s poverty reduction strategy and policy. In addition, it aims to analyze the current state of poverty monitoring covering national and community levels.
10 E. Definition of Terms
This part of the introduction will enlighten the readers on some jargons. We find terms that will help readers to understand more about the study.
Macroeconomics. Greek prefix "macr(o)-" meaning "large" + "economics") is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of the entire economy. This includes a national, regional, or global economy. Macroeconomists study aggregated indicators such as GDP, unemployment rates, and price indices to understand how the whole economy functions. Macroeconomists develop models that explain the relationship between such factors as national income, output, consumption, unemployment, inflation, savings, investment, international trade and international finance.
Government. Refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized. Government is the means by which state policy is enforced, as well as the mechanism for determining the policy of the state.
11
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Government of the Philippines' Midterm Progress Report shows the country is on track to meet 2015 targets on reducing child mortality, promoting gender equality, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation. However, the country needs to increase its efforts to meet universal primary education and maternal health goals.
Economic growth. A necessary precondition for poverty reduction, but the quality of that growth is important, and not all growth is pro-poor.
Philippine Empirical Record. A record demonstrates that the poverty headcount declines when the growth rate of average family income is higher than the rate of inflation.
Flipside. An increase in the poverty headcount when the reverse is true, whether or not there was overall economic growth.
Poverty threshold/Poverty line. The minimum level of income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate standard of living in a given country.
12
In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries.
Poverty trap. A situation in which poverty outcomes reinforce themselves, acting as causes of poverty. The poverty trap can be defined at individual or household level, or at national level. An example of a poverty trap at the individual level is the situation where an unemployed person refrains from taking a job because their earnings will disqualify then from claiming unemployment benefits or raise their tax liability, and as a result, their net income will fall.
Hunger. The most commonly used term to describe the social condition of people who frequently experience the physical sensation of desiring food. Rises in the costs of living make poor people less able to afford items. Poor people spend a greater portion of their budgets on food than richer people. As a result, poor households and those near the poverty threshold can be particularly vulnerable to increases in food prices.
Education. In the general sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual.
13
In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another. Poverty often drastically affects children's success in school. A child's "home activities, preferences, mannerisms" must align with the world and in the cases that they do not these students are at a disadvantage in the school and most importantly the classroom. Therefore, it is safe to state that children who live at or below the poverty level will have far less success educationally than children who live above the poverty line. Poor children have a great deal less healthcare and this ultimately results in many absences from the academic year.
14
Chapter 2
II. Review of Related Literature and Studies This chapter discusses pertinent and substantial local and foreign literature and studies, written and conducted by some persons of authority in the field of poverty reduction that have a very significant bearing in this study.
A. Literature
FOREIGN LITERATURE
The World Bank Group, “Urban Poverty”, Poverty Reduction Sourcebook, 2001. This article was addressed to both stakeholders engaged in countrywide poverty strategies and local-level participants in such strategic exercises for their city. The article gave a brief orientation on the two of its major themes, namely. Understanding the urban poverty and addressing the urban poverty. In addition, it outlined the definitions on urban poverty and the measures to be undertaken to monitor it. Likewise, stressed the indicators of urban poverty.
15
Furthermore the article summarized the main policies and institutional, elements pertinent to urban poverty reduction, both for supporting widely shared growth with equity and sustaining poverty-targeted measures at scale.
Asian Development Bank, “Fighting Poverty in Asia and the Pacific; The Poverty Reduction Strategy”, Asian Development Bank Policy Papers, 1999. The article imparted very important information on the condition of poverty in Asia and in the Pacific. It discussed the nature of poverty, the framework of poverty reduction, and the key elements of framework. Also, the article suggested feasible programs of action that need to be undertaken by both local and national government of a particular state situated either in Asia or In the Pacific for the suppression of the worsening conditions of the society brought by poverty. Fujimori began implementing structural policies in the early 1990’s primarily zeroing the fight against poverty; the country was able to achieve to act extreme poverty in half by the year 2000.
16
Miller, Juanita E., “Defining Poverty”, Poverty Fact Sheet Series, Ohio State University, 1996. This fact sheet aimed to increase one’s knowledge about poverty. Measuring poverty is difficult because poverty is a complex issue. The current measures for poverty does not take into account all of the related factors. The poverty measure or poverty line does not accurately define family resources. Family resources are defined as cash receipts and do not reflect in kind benefits the family receives such as food stamps. The article was conducted in response on the poverty problems experienced by the citizens of Ohio. It presented statistics on various measures/indicators of poverty way back 1995. It also gave a brief discussion on poverty threshold and guidelines - two of the major components that primarily support this study.
17
LOCAL LITERATURE
Ramos, Fidel V., “The Continuing Revolution: Meeting the Challenges of Development and Poverty Reduction”, Volume 9, 2001. Our world may never completely see the equal distribution of wealth, or the delivery of socio-economic justice to all. But we can expect to celebrate a time where those who can work will have jobs that pay respectable wages – enough to support their families, enough to help neighbors in need, enough to make their communities a better place in which to live. When a country is strong economically, other countries benefit. When a community is strong economically, its residents thrive.
In the Philippines, signs of industry and patience abound – even in shantytowns and remote rural communities. Everywhere you turn, you see pushcart vendors making do – selling humble products for small profit. You see entire families searching garbage for plastic, paper, glass and metal and other discarded items of possible value to sell to recycling plants. And women selling loads of fruits on baskets balanced on their heads.
18 Yet, despite this constant labor, little has changed through the years for many who are poor. So many hardworking families remain hungry and ill. So many children have to work for the family’s bread instead of going to school. For some communities, generation after another, their legacy is poverty.
People Empowerment: Society and government reaching out
When the concept of human development was first introduces in national planning and in United Nations programs, we sensed that it had a basic affinity with sustaining our democracy in the Philippines – which we won in a peaceful “People Power” revolution in February 1986. As we sought to institutionalize “people empowerment,” many of us began to realize that human development is the key measure of the progress we make in empowering ordinary Filipinos, many of whom are poor.
Empowerment is about common folk participating in decision making that directly affects their families and communities. It also means being represented in policy bodies where their well-being, interests, opportunities and potentials are recognized and enhanced.
Macroedit for working capital
19 Sadly, in the Philippines and in other developing nations, the demand for credit extended by loan sharks far exceeds the supply of “microedit”. God willing, as microenterprise development expands and reaches a greater number of families, the need for exploitative lenders will diminish and the loan shark becomes an endangered species – and perhaps, one day will disappear.
Microedit for working capital makes the big difference; offers the honorable, self-help solution to poverty; and fuels radical change in the lives of the poor and their communities. Five hundred, a thousand, five thousand pesos worth of microedit – depending on the nature of the business – will make all those man-hours of daily effort begin to count. Then a sturdy structure can be built upon a foundation of fairness, reliability and mutual benefit.
Summing up: The challenge to all
On a macro scale, it is only by recognizing the common bonds of humanity, which link us that we can mitigate the poverty and the deprivation generated by narrow nationalism, ignorance that breeds isolation, petty partisan politics, tribal rivalries, and religious extremism. Democracy thrives in healthy economies and vice versa.
20
When people are poor and weak, they have neither time nor energy to defend their basic human rights as free men and women who must have a say in their country’s policies and leadership.
In the Philippines, to vote, a citizen must write in the candidates’ name on the ballot. This requires a certain level of basic education. The illiterate suffer the indignity of having to ask for help – although their lack of education is really due to their poverty, not the absence of the motivation to learn. When people work twelve to fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, they have no time and little energy to discuss politics or governance, no way to make educated choices.
When democracy frays, other political systems win – and the world has had enough of totalitarianism and terrorist regimes. Democracy begins in the communities and villages. This is where humanity loses or wins. This is where we need to put our muscle, minds, and our programs that empower people.
Empowering people, enriching communities, strengthening the voices of those we have not heard from before – all these are opportunity’s gift to the Philippines and to 24 other developing countries around the world.
21
The poor need a chance, a working chance to lead lives of productivity. That is what they want. And that is what we want for them.
B. Studies
FOREIGN STUDIES
Dessalien, Renata Lok, “Review of Poverty Concepts and Indicators”, UN Publications on Poverty, 2002. This paper gives an overview on the different concepts and approaches to these measurements. Furthermore, it dealt with the variation of concepts to provide the multi dimensional nature of poverty. Likewise, this paper reviewed the main indicators of poverty existed overtime, together with their strengths and weaknesses.
World Bank, “Philippines - Poverty Assessments”, World Bank Reports (ER 20498), Volume 1 and 2, 2002. The study focused on the nature of poverty and how to alleviate or to suppress it, it also gave a view on the recent developments on poverty reduction in the Philippines. Likewise, it evaluated the projects, aiming to lessen poverty in the 90’s, conducted by the government and assessed how effective or deficient these endeavors were.
22
Baker, Judy L., “Evaluating the Impact Development Projects on Poverty: A Handbook for Practitioners”, World Bank Reports (20745), 2002. The study focused on the need/necessity of having an evaluation of projects aiming to alleviate poverty depending on the impact of these projects to the poor.
LOCAL STUDIES
Orbeta, Aniceto C., “Structural Adjustment and Poverty Alleviation in the Philippines”, Philippine Institute for Development Studies Book 1996 (DP 1994-04), 1996. This paper reviewed the Philippine structural adjustment and poverty alleviation experience. It also gave a review of the existing analyses of the impact of structural adjustment programs on poverty. Furthermore, the study provided a brief description of the development experience of the country, including the poverty alleviation initiatives.
23 C. Relevance of Literature and Studies reviewed to the present study
In this part of research paper, we point out how each of the studies reviewed related to the present study. Based on information we gathered, it is very closely related to the present study because we all know that this is a very serious case especially in our country Philippines. In literature, the article of Asian Development Bank (1999) gave very important information about condition of poverty in Asia and in the Pacific. It discussed the nature of poverty, the framework of poverty reduction, and the key elements of framework. Also, the article suggested feasible programs of action for the suppression of the worsening conditions of the society brought by poverty. In a like manner, in study, the article of World Bank; Volume 1 and 2 (2002), the study focused on the nature of poverty and how to alleviate or to suppress it, it also gave a view on the recent developments on poverty reduction in the Philippines. Also, it evaluated projects, aiming to lessen poverty conducted by the government. So, as we observed the information, there is a relationship between literature and study that we gathered.
24 D. Theoretical Framework
THE THEORIES OF POVERTY
Theories of poverty can be broadly classified into two types: cultural and structural. Cultural theories find the explanation for poverty in the traits of the poor themselves. These theories assert it is the valuation, attitudinal, and behavioral patterns of the poor which prevent them from being socially mobile. In contrast, structural theories explain poverty in terms of the conditions under which the poor live: unemployment, underemployment, poor education, and poor health. The distinctive traits of the poor so central to the explanation of the cultural theorists are, for the structural theorists, responses or adaptations to the hostility of the structural conditions the poor face. Structural theorists fully accept the cultural theorists' characterization of the poor; they merely place another interpretation on it.
Theories of Poverty: The Culture of Poverty
According to Oscar Lewis, the culture of poverty constitutes a "design for living" that is passed on from generation to the next. Individuals feel marginalized, helpless and inferior, and adopt an attitude of living for the present. They are fatalistic.
25
Families are characterized by high divorce rates, with mothers and children abandoned; they become matrifocal families headed by women. People adopting this culture of poverty do not participate in community life or join political parties; they make little use of banks, hospitals and the like. According to Lewis, the culture of poverty perpetuates poverty: it "tends to perpetuate itself from generation to generation because of its effect on children. By the time slum children are aged six or seven, they have usually absorbed the basic values and attitudes of their subculture and are not psychologically geared to take full advantage of changing conditions or increased opportunities which may occur in their lifetime. However, Lewis regards the culture of poverty as applicable to Third World countries, or countries in the early stages of industrialization, and claims that it is not prevalent in advanced capitalist societies.
Theories of Poverty: Individualistic Theories
Herbert Spencer, blamed poverty on the poor. He claimed that the poor were lazy, and those who did not want to work should not be allowed to eat. He attributed poverty to bad moral character. He argued that the State should intervene as little as possible. It was he that coined the phrase, "the survival of the fittest". This attitude still prevails today, and Golding and Middleton claim that newspapers regularly report benefit claimants as "scroungers".
26
However, this attitude seems to be in some decline. According to a survey conducted by the European Commission into attitudes in 1976 43% of British people blamed poverty on laziness compared to 18% in 1989. Furthermore, Britain was the country where people were most likely to blame poverty on the individual characteristics of the poor.
27 E. Conceptual Framework
STOPPING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Our main objective in this research study is to examine the poverty situation in the Philippines and to assess the country’s poverty reduction strategy and policy.
We decided to conduct surveys to the students of FEU in different courses. They will be our respondents to help us continue conducting our research paper.
1. What are the main causes of poverty in the Philippines?
2. Why does poverty persist in the Philippines?
3. What can we do to escape or somehow eliminate poverty?
4. What are the different difficulties faced by the Filipinos that lead to poverty?
Conducting that kind of method, this will serve a big help for us to come up with good results in our research study. Those researches that we made, the readers can be inspired and be more knowledgeable about the poverty here in our country. The government can be wake up from deep sleep and see the problem of increasing the percent of poverty and make a solution about it.
28
Chapter 3
I. Research Methodology This chapter describes the methods that will be use in our study. This will also describes the research design, the locale, the respondents, the population, and the data gathering procedure, the instruments, and the treatment of data. This part will serves us a big help to solve and end our research paper.
A. Research Design
This study entitled “Stopping the Cycle of Poverty in the Philippines” utilized the survey approach of research precisely the descriptive method. We will accumulate existing information and data regarding ways to at least alleviate or suppress poverty.
B. Research Locale
We decided to conduct surveys to the students of Far Eastern University in different courses, institutes, and year levels. They will be our respondents to help us continue conducting our research paper.
29
C. Respondents of the Study
We need 30 respondents from Far Eastern University in different courses, institutes, and year levels to use and conduct the said survey.
D. Research Instrument
We decided to make or use questionnaires that may have something to do with our research questions as an instrument to be answer by the respondents.
30
Chapter 4
I. Problems Encountered
In making the research paper, we will encounter different problems. Sometimes, in doing the research paper, we cannot avoid mistakes. These are the problems we encountered as we go along in making our research paper.
Time Management. As a student, lacking of time in doing a research paper is one of the problems we encountered. It’s hard to find free time especially when you have lots of things to do inside the campus.
Looking for Related Reviews, Literature, and Studies. In finding or looking for related reviews, literature, and studies, it is hard for us to look over the internet and books which is needed in the research paper that you must or able to relate in our daily lives. In looking for those things is one of the most difficult parts in doing the research paper.
Schedule. In terms of schedule, you must set the date and time in doing your research. It is the same as the Time Management.
31
Financial Expenditure. In doing our research, money is always needed in terms of printing papers or printing the final output. There are times that we are having difficulties about this, because of problems financially and in dividing the amount that we spent.
32 II. Results and Findings
1. How does poverty affect you and your family?
a. b. Greatly – (Where 6 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) c. Moderately – (Where 12 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) d. Slightly – (Where 11 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) e. Not at all - (Where 1 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
2. How big a problem is poverty in our society today?
a. b. A big problem – (Where 25 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) c. Somewhat of a problem - (Where 4 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) d. A small problem - (Where 1 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
e. Not a problem at all - (Where 0 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
33
3. How satisfied are you with the way the economy is going these days
a. b. Very satisfied – (Where 0 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) c. Somewhat satisfied - (Where 8 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) d. Not very satisfied - (Where 16 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) e. Not satisfied at all – (Where 6 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
4. In your opinion, which is the bigger cause of poverty today?
a. People are not doing enough to help themselves out of poverty – (Where 21 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) b. Circumstances beyond their control cause them to be poor – (Where 9 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
34 5. If the government were willing to spend whatever it thought was necessary to eliminate poverty in the Philippines, do you think that this is something that could be accomplished, or not?
a. b. Yes – (Where 17 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) c. No – (Where 13 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
6. Here are some detailed questions about poverty. For each of the following, please tell if this is a major cause of poverty (1), a minor cause of poverty (2), or not a cause at all (3). Put 1,2,3
a. Drug abuse b. Medical bills c. Too many job being part time or low wage d. Too many single-parent families e. A shortage of jobs f. The welfare system g. Too many immigrants h. Poor people lacking motivation i. Decline in moral values j. Poor quality of public schools
| A. | B. | C. | D. | E. | F. | G. | H. | I. | J. | 1 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | | 4 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
* * Letter E, which is A shortage of jobs is the Major cause of poverty according to the out of 30 respondents of FEU students. * Letters B (Medical Bills), C (Too many job being part time or low wage), and D (Too many single-parent) were the Minor cause of poverty according to the out of 30 respondents of FEU students. * Letter G, which is Too many immigrants is the not-cause-at-all according to the out of 30 respondents of FEU students.
35
7. If you mentioned more than one item as a major cause, what is it?
a. b. Drug abuse c. Medical bills d. Too many job being part time or low wage e. Too many single-parent families f. A shortage of jobs g. The welfare system h. Too many immigrants i. Poor people lacking motivation j. Decline in moral values k. Poor quality of public schools
| A. | B. | C. | D. | E. | F. | G. | H. | I. | J. | Major Cause | 2 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
* The table shows the more mentioned item as a major cause. Letter E, which is A SHORTAGE OF JOBS. It shows that among the 30 respondents of FEU students whom we surveyed are considering
SHORTAGE OF JOBS in our country as a Major cause of poverty.
8. Which of the following statements comes closer to your own views?
a. Poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return - (Where 12 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) b. Poor people have hard lives because government benefits don’t go far enough to help them live decently - (Where 18 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
36 9. Do you think government programs that try to improve the condition of poor people in this country are generally
a. Making things better - (Where
9 out of 30 respondents of
FEU students chose this letter) b. Making things worse - (Where
5 out of 30 respondents of
FEU students chose this letter) c. Not having much impact one way or another - (Where 16 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
10. Would you be willing to pay more taxes to pay for more of such government spending to help the poor?
a. Yes - (Where 11 out of 30 respondents of FEU students chose this letter) b. No – (Where 19 out of 30
Respondents of FEU students chose this letter)
37 III. Conclusion
The overall answer of this research study is that the major cause of poverty in the Philippines is the shortage of jobs offered. What happens later is beyond their expectations; they become jobless, homeless, and the worse impact is that they are unable to return to their villages for they don't even have money to return. Consider the magnitude of poverty. Oftentimes, only the poverty headcount (the poverty incidence) is considered in making statements about progress in poverty reduction. The findings confirm that there can be considerable shifts in poverty status, even when the overall headcount remains more or less the same. Out of 30 respondents, 19 were not willing to pay more taxes to the government to help the poor. I guess the reason why they didn’t agree is because they are not sure if the taxes they will pay will be straight to the poor. Majority of the respondents are not having much impact one way or another in government programs that try to improve the condition of poor people in this country. The result of this research is that our country needs improvement and needs an immediate action to help lessen the poverty.
38 Appendix Far Eastern University
Morayta, Manila
STOPPING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Survey Questions
Name (optional): Institute:
Gender: Course:
1. How does poverty affect you and your family? a. Greatly b. Moderately c. Slightly d. Not at all
2. How big a problem is poverty in our society today? a. A big problem b. Somewhat of a problem c. A small problem d. Not a problem at all
3. How satisfied are you with the way the economy is going these days? a. Very satisfied b. Somewhat satisfied c. No very satisfied d. Not satisfied at all
4. In your opinion, which is the bigger cause of poverty today? a. People are not doing enough to help themselves out of poverty b. Circumstances beyond their control cause them to be poor 5. If the government were willing to spend whatever it thought was necessary to eliminate poverty in the Philippines, do you think that this is something that could be accomplished, or not? a. Yes b. No
39 6. Here are some detailed questions about poverty. For each of the following, please tell if this is a major cause of poverty (1), a minor cause of poverty (2), or not a cause at all (3). Put 1, 2, or 3. a. Drug abuse b. Medical bills c. Too many jobs being part time or low wage d. Too many single-parent families e. A shortage of jobs f. The welfare system g. Too many immigrants h. Poor people lacking motivation i. Decline in moral values j. Poor quality of public schools
7. If you mentioned more than one item as a major cause, what is it? a. Drug abuse b. Medical bills c. Too many jobs being part time or low wage d. Too many single-parent families e. A shortage of jobs f. The welfare system g. Too many immigrants h. Poor people lacking motivation i. Decline in moral values j. Poor quality of public schools
8. Which of the following statements comes closer to your own views? a. Poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return. b. Poor people have hard lives because government benefits don’t go far enough to help them live decently. 9. Do you think government programs that try to improve the condition of poor people in this country are generally a. Making things better b. Making things worse c. Not having much impact one way or another
10. Would you be willing to pay more in taxes to pay for more of such government spending to help the poor? a. Yes b. No 40
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