Family size, household shocks and chronic and transient poverty in the Philippines

Abstract

This research is one of the few attempts to analyze chronic and transient poverty in the Philippines. Results indicate that poverty in the Philippines is largely comprised of chronic poverty with households in rural areas and Mindanao regions being the most affected. Using quantile regressions, results show that both chronic and transient poverty are affected by negative shocks to households. Shocks in the labor market such as job loss or income reduction affect chronic poverty while natural disasters such as droughts affect transient poverty. Results also indicate that a higher dependency burden due to a large number of younger children positively affects chronic poverty but not transient poverty. Policy suggestions to lower both types of poverty in the Philippine context are provided.