MANILA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Strategic reforms to boost job creation could help transform the Philippines into a middle-class society by 2040, according to a new World Bank report released on Tuesday.
The report said that a new playbook focused on creating more and better-paying jobs is increasingly urgent as the country confronts a new global context characterized by global uncertainty, rapidly evolving technologies with significant implications for jobs, and recurrent climate shocks.
To achieve the goal of becoming a middle-class society, the report said the Philippines needs to sustain annual growth of 6-10 percent for decades.
"Challenges remain," the World Bank said in a press release. "The Philippines still underperforms its peers in Asia and the Pacific."
Productivity has not been a large contributor to growth, limited competition in key sectors constrains the growth and job creation of top-tier firms, and complex permitting processes in enabling services dull the effects of past reforms, the report said.
"The economy's increasing inward orientation -- less exporting and participation in global value chains -- constrains future growth and the creation of quality jobs," it said, noting that infrastructure gaps remain, making transport costs high.
To address those challenges, the report said public policy needs to ensure adequate investment in three pillars of development: physical and digital infrastructure and human capital; a business-enabling policy environment that reduces barriers to entry and promotes competition; and smart, targeted interventions to mobilize private capital, particularly in sectors that produce goods or services that can be traded across regions and international borders, including agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and business services. ■
