The Philippine economy is forecast to grow as previously estimated in 2017 and to remain a top performer in the East Asia and Pacific Region, the World Bank said in its Philippines Economic Update released Tuesday.
The economy is forecast to grow 6.9 percent each this year and in 2018. The outlook for 2017 was left unchanged, while that for 2018 was revised down from 7 percent.
For 2019, the lender expects 6.8 percent expansion.
The government's commitment to further increase public infrastructure investment is forecast to sustain the growth momentum through 2018 and reinforce business and consumer confidence.
"The implementation of planned infrastructure projects could generate positive spillover effects for the rest of the economy, spurring additional business activity, accelerating job creation, and ultimately contributing to higher household consumption and poverty reduction," Birgit Hansl, World Bank lead economist, said.
The bank observed that higher employment, low inflation and improved incomes contributed to the decline in the number of poor people.
Nonetheless, Hansl said underinvestment contributes to high rates of informality and low job quality, and it weakens the impact of employment growth on poverty reduction.
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