Publication: Philippines Economic Update, December 2023: Safe Water and Sanitation for All
Loading...
Published
2024-02-13
ISSN
Date
2024-02-08
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The Philippines Economic Update (PEU) summarizes key economic and social developments, important policy changes, and the evolution of external conditions over the past six months. It also presents findings from recent World Bank analyses, situating them in the context of the country’s long-term development trends and assessing their implications for the country’s medium-term economic outlook. The update covers issues ranging from macroeconomic management and financial-market dynamics to the complex challenges of poverty reduction and social development. It is intended to serve the needs of a wide audience, including policymakers, business leaders, private firms and investors, and analysts and professionals engaged in the social and economic development of the Philippines
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2024. Philippines Economic Update, December 2023: Safe Water and Sanitation for All. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/41013 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Philippine Economic Update, December 2012(World Bank, Manila, 2012-12)The Philippine economy has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in East Asia, with growth accelerating to 7.1 percent in the third quarter. The acceleration of domestic demand since the first quarter of 2012 reflects the country's strong macroeconomic fundamentals, stronger government finances, and high confidence in the Aquino government's commitment to reform. Sound macroeconomic fundamentals, as seen in low inflation, and large current account surpluses and foreign exchange reserves, have continued to shield the economy from external headwinds, while a more diversified export basket allowed total exports to grow, despite the decline in electronics exports. Overall, the economy is expected to expand by over six percent this year, up from 3.9 percent last year. However, more structural reforms are needed to create more and better jobs, as the overall labor market outcome has been less responsive to the higher economic growth. The economy needs to shift from consumption towards investment, both public and private. The special focus sections of this update demonstrate that the implementation of such reforms can have high payoffs in terms of jobs and inclusive growth. Finally, by scaling-up and broadening several open government/open data initiatives in the country, the strengthening of inclusive institutions would be greatly enhanced, in line with the core principles of this government.Publication Senegal Economic Update, December 2014 : Learning from the Past for a Better Future(Washington, DC, 2014-12)Gross domestic product (GDP) growth was a disappointing 3.5 percent in 2013. It remained largely unchanged compared to 2012, reflecting a decline in cereal production and stagnation in the industrial sector. Services continue to drive the economy. The economic outlook for 2014 was more positive, but poor rainfall and the Ebola outbreak have forced downward revisions in GDP growth projections, now expected to reach 4.5 percent. The plan Senegal emergent aims to break with this trend, with a welcome focus on higher economic growth. However, its ambitions may exceed available resources and will likely depend on accelerated reforms and a strong private sector response. This first economic update begins with an overview of the macroeconomic situation in Senegal, starting with a review of 2013 before examining the initial results of 2014. After a brief look at the challenges posed by unemployment and poverty, the report turns to an assessment of the growth strategy. It presents analysis of past performance since 1990 in order to understand better what needs to be done differently. The report concludes with a few recommendations.Publication Philippines Economic Update, December 2020(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12-02)The Philippine economy contracted by 10.0 percent, year-on-year, in the first three quarters of 2020, given the triple shock brought by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 delivered a triple shock of a health crisis, strict containment measures, and a global recession of unprecedented scale. The sharp contraction in the second quarter was driven by the steep dive in private domestic demand, deep contraction in public investment activities, and the collapse of trade due to the impact of strict containment measures domestically and globally. Most of the country entered a more relaxed community quarantine in mid-August with a gradual opening of businesses and government operations. Yet, the economy further contracted in the third quarter, albeit a modest improvement from the peak of the outbreak. Moreover, the country was hit by a series of strong typhoons which may cause delay on the pace of the recovery as economic activities were affected in some areas. This report will feature disaster risk management (DRM) challenges the country faces and policy recommendations to strengthen its fiscal, physical, and social resilience. The severity of the recession can be explained, first and foremost, by the collapse in private consumption, as containment measures led to a fall in employment and incomes. Private consumption contracted by 8.2 percent, its worst performance on record. This was in large part due to a combination of factors that crippled domestic demand, including record-high unemployment, declining incomes (including remittances), movement restrictions that suppressed consumption, and a historic decline in consumer confidence. The deepest contraction was registered in the consumption of non-essential goods and services and those that were affected by the implementation of strict containment measures, while essential goods such as food registered small positive growth. In particular, the combination of travel restrictions and weak consumer confidence which weighed on demand, resulted in a collapse in domestic tourism expenditures, which make up a fifth of private consumption.Publication Kenya Economic Update, December 2010(Washington, DC, 2010-12)Kenya may be at a "tipping point," the theme of the third Kenya economic update which has a special focus on the transformative impact of information and communication technology (ICT) and mobile money. Over the last decade, ICT has outperformed all others sectors growing at an average of 20 percent per year. The benefits of ICT are starting to be felt in other sectors, and have contributed to the conditions for Kenya to reach this tipping point. Kenya has entered the new decade with renewed and stronger than expected growth. The passing of the new constitution, continued strong macroeconomic policies, and a favorable regional environment have created a new positive economic momentum. Kenya may again be positioned to experience high growth. Over the last three decades Kenya has experienced only two short episodes when economic growth exceeded five percent and was sustained for at least three consecutive years: 1986-88, and 2004-2007. Is Kenya again at the verge of experiencing another growth spurt? Will it last longer and go deeper than the previous two episodes?Publication Kenya Economic Update, December 2014, No. 11(World Bank, Nairobi, 2014-12)This is the eleventh edition of the Kenya Economic Update. The special focus of this update examines the structural factors underpinning the poor performance of the manufacturing sector. Drawing on recent firm-level data from the 2010 Industrial Census and the 2013 Enterprise Survey. It investigates the extent to which the sector's lack of dynamism reflects problems in Kenya's business environment, which compares poorly to regional neighbors' on several manufacturing-relevant dimensions. The report has four main messages: First, Kenya begins 2015 in a sound economic position. After growing an estimated 5.4 percent in 2014, its economy is poised to be among the fastest growing in the region, with growth projected at 6.0 percent in 2015, 6.6 percent in 2016, and 7.0 percent in 2017. Second, the external sector remains weak and vulnerable, as import growth continue to outpace export growth and short-term flows finance the current account deficit. The large deficit points to underlying structural weaknesses in Kenya's economy, which need to be addressed. Third, Kenya needs to increase the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector so that it can grow, export, and create much-needed jobs. As a share of GDP, Kenya's manufacturing sector has been stagnant in recent years, and it has lost international market share; lastly, the weak business environmentis a key constraint for the manufacturing sector. Obstacles to doing business affect this sector more than many others because manufacturing needs access to capital for investments, infrastructure to import inputs and export and distribute finished products, affordable and reliable electricity to produce, labor to man operations, and fair and streamlined regulations and trade policies that allow firms to compete.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Jobs in a Changing Climate: Insights from World Bank Group Country Climate and Development Reports Covering 93 Economies(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-05)The World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) provide a crosscutting look at how countries’ development prospects, and the job opportunities they offer to their people, can be threatened by climate impacts and supported by climate policies. Climate change and policies affect jobs through impacts on productivity, energy and material efficiency, and physical, human, and natural capital. They can also transform employment opportunities, especially through complementary measures that help workers and firms adapt to and benefit from new technologies and production practices. Prepared by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), CCDRs integrate country perspectives, climate science and economic modeling, private sector information, and policy analysis to assess how countries can successfully grow and develop their economies and create jobs despite increasing climate risks and while achieving their climate objectives and commitments. Each CCDR starts from the country’s development priorities, opportunities, and challenges, and is developed in close consultation with governments, businesses, and civil society, ensuring the recommendations reflect national priorities. By combining evidence on adaptation, resilience, and emissions pathways, CCDRs highlight where climate action can reinforce development and job creation, and where targeted policies are needed to manage risks and smooth labor market transitions. Taken together, these elements can help create local jobs, ensure economic transitions are just and inclusive, and equip workers and firms to navigate the disruptions and opportunities of a changing climate and changing technologies.Publication World Bank East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, October 2025: Jobs(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-07)GDP growth in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region remains above the global average but is projected to slow down in 2025 and even further in 2026. The sluggishness is due to a less favorable external environment—rising trade restrictions, easing but still elevated global uncertainty, and slowing global growth—as well as persistent domestic difficulties. Today, many people are in low-productivity or informal jobs, and many of the young cannot find any jobs. The class of people vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries. In a region that thrived because export-oriented, labor-intensive growth created more productive jobs, firms must deal with higher tariffs and workers must contend with the growing use of robots, AI and digital platforms. More productive jobs would be created by reforms to enhance economic opportunity, human capacity and their virtuous interplay.Publication Running Uphill(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-15)Faster growth was driven by pro-investment reforms implemented in a period of high returns to investment and facilitated by public foundational infrastructure investment. Macroeconomic and structural reforms enhanced stability and lowered investment costs. Public investment, increasing from 2.5 to 5.0 percent of GDP on average in the past decade, contributed to providing some of the public goods needed. Given the remaining gaps in investment relative to global standards, these reforms led to high returns to private investment, creating the right conditions to attract more investment from home and abroad, particularly to lagging regions. Spatial convergence became another engine of growth. A more complex external environment and ambitious national targets call for accelerating growth and improving labor outcomes. Potential growth must rise to create more productive jobs. This requires improved connectivity infrastructure, better local governance, and innovation policies to enhance productivity, together with regulatory and trade reforms to optimize resource allocation and tap into the global economy. It also requires stronger skills to prepare for the jobs of the future. In the following six chapters, this report looks at these issues in detail. The first two chapters look at macro and micro features of growth and job creation. They centrally position better labor outcomes as an objective of faster growth. They examine how policies supported or inhibited job creation and growth, and provide long-term growth projections. The subsequent three chapters look at specific development challenges. Chapter 3 looks at spatial growth and job creation dynamics; Chapter 4 looks at technology adoption and productivity dynamics; and Chapter 5 looks at how climate events affect firms’ performance and decisions on investment and jobs.Publication Guinea-Bissau Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-23)Guinea-Bissau is endowed with a wealth of natural resources, with the highest natural capital per capita in West Africa (US3,874 dollars per capita), which could be leveraged for sustainable and resilient growth. However, Guinea-Bissau faces significant development hurdles, such as high poverty rates, political instability, and economic challenges, including an over-reliance on cashew nuts. Rural poverty has increased, and the nation's infrastructure, education, and health care systems are underdeveloped. Climate change poses a severe threat, potentially impacting agriculture, fisheries, and infrastructure. Without adaptation, it could lead to a significant cut in real GDP per capita (minus 7.3 percent by 2050) and increase in poverty (with up to over 200,000 additional poor by 2050, that is, 5 percent of the expected population, in the worst scenario). The country's low greenhouse gas emissions are expected to rise, mainly due to agriculture and land-use changes, with deforestation being a major contributing factor. Although Guinea-Bissau is a low emitter, it has high mitigation ambitions, targeting a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The Nationally Determined Contribution outlines significant climate actions, with initiatives focused on forest conservation, sustainable agriculture, and community development. However, the country's political instability, institutional weaknesses, and limited financial resources pose challenges to implementing these climate commitments, which depend heavily on external funding. The financial sector's underdevelopment and vulnerability to external shocks limit its ability to support green investments, though reforms could enhance resilience. Guinea-Bissau must consider its climate financing as development financing and vice-versa, engage the private sector, and integrate climate goals with national development plans to ensure a sustainable future. Concessional climate financing is vital due to the underdeveloped financial sector and the government’s limited borrowing capacity. Addressing Guinea-Bissau's vulnerability to climate change and its structural issues requires a cohesive approach that integrates development and climate strategies. This could involve improving governance, diversifying the economy, protecting natural capital, developing human capital, and investing in sustainable agriculture and infrastructure. The transition to a more sustainable and inclusive development pathway that supports economic growth is possible, but requires focusing on key strategic sectors, enhancing institutional capacity, and creating the conditions to mobilize finance. As a highly vulnerable country, there are myriad needs in the different sectors; however, to be more efficient and effective, Guinea-Bissau should prioritize actions in a few sectors, especially actions on biodiversity, agriculture, and social protection. Low carbon development, especially in energy and forestry sectors, could provide cost-efficient solutions and attract climate finance, including from the private sector, which will support the overall development agenda.Publication Kyrgyz Republic Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-03)This Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) on the Kyrgyz Republic aims to support the country’s development goals amid a changing climate. The CCDR considers two policy scenarios up to 2050: the business-as-usual (BAU) and high-growth scenarios. As it quantifies the likely impacts of climate change on the Kyrgyz economy between now and 2050, the report highlights key government actions to best prepare for and adapt to climate impacts (referred to as “with adaptation” measures), with a particular focus on the time horizon up to 2030. The CCDR also outlines a path to net zero emissions by 2050 (referred to as “with mitigation” measures, “decarbonization,” or, simply, “net zero 2050”), highlighting associated development co-benefits.