THE IMPACT OF MACROECONOMIC POLICIES ON INCOME-DISTRIBUTION - AN EMPIRICAL-STUDY OF THE PHILIPPINES

There has been a growing awareness of the income distribution dimension of macroeconomic policies. This paper studies this issue empirically, considering the case of the Philippines and using data available from integrated surveys of households. After estimating a reduced form equation, it was found that underemployment, inflation, and government spending worsen income distribution, while productivity gains, the real interest rate, and the real exchange rate were found to improve distribution. A similar pattern emerges when the effects of these variables on the absolute incidence of poverty are estimated. -Authors