Extended Definition Essay

Population Growth on Philippine Economy

Just recently HSBC’s global research division published a study foretelling the

rise and fall of the economic performances of countries in the next 4 decades. They

highlighted the striking rise of the Philippines, which is set to become the world’s

sixteenth largest economy by 2050, up 27 places from today. According to the study,

among the Asian countries, the star performer would be the Philippines where the

combination of strong fundamentals of a dynamic economy and powerful demographics

gives rise to an average growth rate of 7% for the coming 40 years (Ward, 2012, p.15).

HSBC believes that the sheer size and inherent talents of our population is what will drive

the economy in years to come (Masigan, 2012). Like any developing economy, there are

certain issues that need to be addressed if one is to reach its full potential. One of which is

the increasing demand to meet the rapid population growth in the Philippines. The

continuing population growth in the Philippines is affecting the Philippine economic

performance.

The growth of the population is one of the things that account for the success and

failure of countries. Philippines is considered a developing country and characterized

now by a continuing population growth. Also, the large portion of young people is

evident in the population. In developing countries, the cause of this can be explained by 3

reasons. First, the lack of livelihood in different communities causes most people to just

stay at their homes and simply do nothing. Also, most women in developing countries

have no opportunities in the formal sector of the economy (Tullao, 2004). Males are

entitled to have more career opportunities especially the professional ones. These women

tend to assume and consider non-professional roles like being housewives, which is the

second cause of population growth. In line with early marriage, there is an increase in the

fertility rate of a developing country. Lastly, the cause of the rapid growth of the

population can be traced back to the government, where there’s a lack of support to

quality education. Quality education promotes individualism that soon becomes a

compelling factor in population growth.

The causes of the growth will eventually have an impact to the Philippine

economy. There are 4 major effects of the country’s growing population to its economic

performance: faster advances in knowledge, progression, high desire of a family program

and dependence of the youth to the labor force. It’s believed that a high population

growth rate can possibly solve problems by producing bright individuals who can create

solutions to the nation’s problems. As Tullao (2004) would imagine it, if there were one

Jose Rizal in 10 million individuals, then there would be 10 Rizals if we have a larger

number of outstanding people. Dr. Victor who is an Economics professor from the UA&P

said, “Advances in knowledge are faster in larger population because intelligence and

genius is not confined to the rich. It is normally distributed, and therefore, with a larger

population you would have an absolutely larger number of outstanding people who do

make a difference.” This leads o the second major effect, which is progression. The

population growth will bring the country into high relief in terms of economic

achievement. If things fall into place, the Philippines can become one of the world’s

progressive countries as stated also in the study of HSBC.

It’s not right to only consider why the population growth on Philippine economy

is a boom; the issues of population can also be seen as a bane. This concern serves as

benefit only if some issues are addressed. Since the government is trying to achieve

progression, one of the ways to do this is by dealing with the high demand for a strong

family program (The World Bank, 2012). It’s quite illogical for a developing country to

have economic development if the people don’t know how to manager the scarce

resources. Some say that the country needs to address first the problem of poverty before

taking into consideration the need for a family planning. This has impending adverse

effects on the economy. And the last major effect is the dependence of the young portion

of the population to the labor force. It is problematic because the large portion of the

population is the youth. In an economic contest, young people are considered

unproductive (Tullao, 2004). This implies that they will depend on the economy. Also,

those people who are part of the labor forces will be supporting those who are

unproductive and part of their labor must be set aside. In effect, this will stunt the

Philippine economy.

No matter how we see population growth as a boon or a bane, there are

recommendations in order for the country to have an increase in the productive capacity

of its economy. This has been the primary reason for the rise and fall of the economic

performance of the Philippines. Recommendations arise because of this reason. The

government should be able to monitor the population growth. One way is to allocate the

scarce resources virtuously and therefore, effectively. Another thing, the government

should support the educational and health sectors of the country. The young portion of the

population must be given attention because we can achieve economic growth through

education and training for other people. Job opportunities in the formal sector should be

available to women. This would help decrease the fertility rate and help them support

their children. Lastly, a population program is needed so that we can use population

growth as a component in the country’s development. This population growth should

adhere the rights of couples to choose among family planning methods they prefer and

not of the government. This is also to provide opportunities for the poor people to

manager their family size and provide better education to their children. Clearly, these

recommendations empower the great potential in us. It’s about time that we start

believing in our own competencies and with the full intent to be one of the top 20

economies in the world.