Since its establishment in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has gone through several phases in its bid for regional integration. From the 1992 Asean Free Trade Area, the 2002 Asean Economic Community, and finally the 2007 Asean Charter provision of three guiding pillars foremost of which was the Asean Economic Community, a...
Tag: World Bank
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Amid extreme inequalities, 306 million Southeast Asians languish in poverty and low incomes
Southeast Asians classified as poor and low-income shared a high 44.7% of the region’s population, or 306 million of a total of 686 million. Social inequalities are similarly endemic in Southeast Asia, as reflected in the distribution of incomes across seven categories—poor, low income, lower middle, middle, upper middle, upper income and rich (see Table...
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All the presidents’ contractors: For 20 years, Malacañang has been unable or unwilling to stop corruption in public works
For the past two decades, across four presidential terms, the same contractors have been awarded the largest public works contracts. Whether the president is a Marcos, a Duterte, an Aquino, or an Arroyo, many politically-connected firms have outbid all others, cornering a disproportionate chunk of lucrative public works projects funded from the people’s taxes. Through...
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The dimensions of inequality in the Philippines, by the numbers
Throughout Asia, the Philippines conspicuously stands out when it comes to social and economic inequalities. The latest World Bank calculations place the Philippines at the highest level of inequality in the region (see Table 1). In a grouping of 27 Asian countries monitored by the World Bank, the Philippines ranks No. 1 in inequality with...