{
  "id": 1747376,
  "title": "‘Slow growth, high inflation pose challenge to poverty reduction’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/slow-growth-high-inflation-pose-challenge-to-poverty-reduction",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-18T16:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Philippine Star Business",
    "slug": "philippine-star-business",
    "url": "https://www.philstar.com/business/2026/08/19/2550170/slow-growth-high-inflation-pose-challenge-poverty-reduction"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Manila, Philippines — Despite making strides in poverty reduction last year, economists warn that slow growth and high inflation are hindering further progress. The Philippine Institute for Development Studies' John Paolo Rivera noted that the lower poverty rate in 2025 reflects significant improvement, but sustaining these gains is challenging due to the disproportionate impact of inflation on low-income households. Balisacan, Secretary of Economy, Planning and Development, reported that the poverty rate declined from 18.1% in 2021 to 9.7% in 2025, lifting 8.8 million Filipinos out of poverty. However, this progress is vulnerable to inflation, especially when food prices rise faster than other goods, as food constitutes a larger portion of expenditures for low-income families. Rivera believes that while the government's target of 8-9% poverty reduction by 2028 is achievable, the remaining reduction will be harder due to high inflation. The overall inflation rate slowed to 6.2% in July from 6.4% in June but remains above the government's target range of 2-4%. Furthermore, University of Asia and the Pacific economist Marco Antonio Agonia highlighted that subpar growth may also undermine poverty reduction efforts, as the economy grew by only 2.3% in the second quarter, the weakest in five years. Agonia warned that without new, diversified sources of growth, the Philippines may miss its single-digit poverty incidence target. Both experts emphasized the need for the government to protect purchasing power, create productive jobs, and diversify economic growth drivers, particularly in agriculture and industry, to sustain poverty reduction gains.",
  "summary": "Despite last year’s progress, weak growth and high inflation are complicating further poverty reduction efforts, making it harder to achieve the eight to nine percent poverty rate goal by 2028, according to economists.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}