Supporting It Infrastructure In Cimb Bank Information Technology Essay

Supporting It Infrastructure In Cimb Bank Information Technology Essay The Strategic Role of Information Systems and Supporting IT Infrastructure in CIMB Bank Berhad on the future direction to implementation of cloud computing in your organisation. The main purpose of this report is to add detail to the findings and recommendations of cloud computing which was being analysed in all aspects. We hope that our recommendations will be helpful as you consider the implementation of cloud computing to your organisation which would be cost savings whereby no additional infrastructure will be used and cloud computing also helps to save the environment by contributing to green computing. We look forward to discussing this report with you. Thank you. Yours sincerely TJ Consultant EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Cloud computing is a new way of delivering computing resources, not a new technology.  [1]   The CIMB Bank Cloud Computing Strategic Direction Paper describes the whole of MSF Sales Force policy position on cloud computing. The strategy will states that the MSF Sales Division can choose a cloud-based service if it show clearly and deliberately value for money, fitness for purpose and are adequately secure; provides guidance for MSF Sales Force on what cloud computing is; and some of the issues and benefits of cloud computing that MSF Sales Force need to be aware of. Our investigation focused on three areas such as IT infrastructure and related problems, business processes and Environmental issues. Result of our analysis has lead to several recommendations. The paper recognises that the public cloud is still undergoing a gradual change, particularly in areas such as security and privacy. These issues need to be adequately resolved before critical MSF Sales Division can be transitioned to the cloud. As a result, the paper outlines three streams of work: Stream One provides the sales division with guidance and documentation. Stream Two encourages sales division to adopt public cloud services for public facing unclassified government services and to undertake proof of concept studies to fully understand the risks of the cloud environment. Stream Three encourages a strategic approach to cloud. This work is dependent upon greater clarity around projects commissioned under the Data Centre Strategy. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Page 1. Introduction 6 2. IT infrastructure and ecosystem 8 2.1 Data management storage 8 2.2 Consultant and System Integration 8 2.2 Network Telecommunication 8 2.4 Software Application 8 2.5 Operating System Platform 8 2.6 Computer/Hardware 8 2.7 Intranet Platform 8 2.8 Issues and Challenges 9 3. Cloud Computing and its business benefits and costs 10 3.1 10 3.2 10 3.3 10 3.4 10 3.5 10 3.6 11 3.7 11 3.8 11 4. Recommendations of Cloud Computing Adoption 13 4.1 Market demand for CIMB / MSF services 14 4.2 CIIMB / MSF Business Strategy 14 4.3 CIMB / MSF Information Technology (IT) strategy, infrastructure cost 14 4.4 Information Technology Assessment 14 4.5 Competitor firm services 14 4.6 Competitor firm IT infrastructure investments 14 4.7 14 4.8 14 4.9 14 5. Conclusions 14 5.1 Summary of key findings 14 5.2 Recommendations 14 5.3 Limitation of studies 15 LIST OF REFERENCES 16 APPENDICES Appendix 1 Journal 18 Appendix 2 Cost and Benefits 20 Appendix 3 21 Appendix 4 22 Appendix 5 23 1. INTRODUCTION CIMB Group is the leading Asean Universal banking franchise, offering full range of financial products and services covering consumer banking, corporate and investment banking, Islamic banking, assets management, wealth management, insurance and Takaful and private banking. However, we are writing report based on one of CIMB Bank sales division known as Mobile Sales Force. Mobile Sales Force or more known as MSF is the largest sales channel in CIMB Bank. Comprising more than 2,000 staffs, promoting and distributing CIMB Bank key products such as mortgage loan for private and corporate, personal loan for government sector, hire purchase and credit cards. MSF was established backed in 2006 with the vision to be the best-in-class sales organization with a passion for exceeding expectation. Prior approval and consent from MSF head of department had been obtained in conducting this research. CIMB Group Profile CIMB Group is ASEANs leading universal banking franchise. We offer a full range of financial products and services covering consumer banking, corporate and investment banking, Islamic banking, asset management, wealth management, insurance and takaful, and private banking. With over 37,000 employees, CIMB Group reaches 81% of the ASEAN population, representing 89% of the regions gross domestic product. Our retail network of over 1,000 branches is the widest in the region. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, CIMB Groups main markets are Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia. Our presence in 13 countries covers ASEAN and major global financial centres, as well as countries in which our customers have significant business and investment dealings. In addition, we extend our reach and range of products and services through strategic partnerships. Our partners include the Principal Financial Group, Aviva plc, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Standard Bank plc, Daishin Securities and the Kanoo Group, among others. CIMB Group As the leading ASEAN universal banking franchise, CIMB Group offers a full range of financial products and services covering consumer banking, corporate and investment banking, Islamic banking, asset management, wealth management, insurance and takaful, and private banking. We operate our businesses on a dual banking leverage model, giving customers a choice of both conventional and Islamic financial solutions. Our main markets in which we offer full universal banking facilities are Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. We also have a presence in other countries where our customers have significant business and investment dealings. CIMB Bank Our Consumer Banking business offers a full range of conventional and Islamic financial products and services to meet the borrowing and financing, wealth management and transaction needs of our individual customers and businesses. Our spectrum of banking services include credit cards, mortgages, auto loans and financing, commercial banking services for Small Medium Enterprises and mid-sized corporate customers, insurance and takaful, investment and wealth management services. We have an extensive retail network across the region in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia that serves over 11 million customers. (http://www.cimb.com/index.php?ch=g2_aupg=g2_au_contenttpt=cimb_groupcat=profile) The rest of this report is as follows : Section 2 : IT Infrastructure and Ecosystem. Explained the IT infrastructure and Ecosystem of the organisation. Section 3 : Cloud computing and its business benefits. Provided cloud computing and its benefits and costs. Section 4 : Recommendation of cloud computing adoption/adaption. Recommended a suitable cloud that MSF could adopt. Section 5: Conclusions. Summarises the key points from the analysis and provided recommendation 2. IT INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECOSYSTEM CIMB IT infrastructure today consist of seven major components that must be coordinated to provide the division with a coherent IT infrastructure and the major vendors within each category INTERNET PLATFORMS Microsoft, Unix, IBM, Java DATA MANAGEMENT STORAGE IBM, DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase COMPUTER HARDWAREPLATFORMS Dell, HP IT INFRASTRUCTURE CONSULTANT SYSTEM INTEGRATOR IBM, EDS, Accenture ECOSYSTEM OPERATING SYSTEM PLATFORMS Microsoft Window NETWORKING TELECOM-MUNICATION Microsoft Window Server, Linux ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE PLATFORMS Oracle, Microsoft CIMB CORPORATE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE: Issues and Challenges Securing Information System CIMB MSF are faced with challenges of data and information security. We need to have a more specific users security procedures guidelines. At the moment, CIMB MSF rely on CIMB Group rules for business conduct and Code of Ethics BNM GP7. As MSF is a firm providing financial services, MSF must comply with the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, better known as the Gramm-Leach Billey Act (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 337) However, in Malaysia all financial institutions is govern by central bank or more known as Bank Negara Malaysia. Malicious Software Malware (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 328) will be another hurdle for implementation of cloud computing as there is no IT department within MSF. All IT issues and problems will have to be refer to CIMB Group IT. This will cause time delaying as the problem cannot be solve in-house and need to wait for IT department action. MSF will have no control as to when CIMB Group IT will react to the reported problem. Absent of Transaction Processing Systems MSF did not have TPS a systems that keep track of the elementary activities of the organisation such as sales for all products such as personal and enterprise mortgages, personal loans and credit cards, customers information like age, annual income, employee, and credit decisions like common rejection reason and best customer profile. (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 75) Decision Support Systems (DCS) Executive Support Systems (ESS) Due to absent of transaction processing system (TPS) no proper management information systems (MIS) to enable DCS ESS. DCS is useful in providing support non-routine decision making for middle management and ESS for senior management (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 78 81) Database management Systems (DBMS) As MSF have multiple products, all data given will be in different formats and all users will have their own preferred format of reporting thus creating double work when each product user need to extract and reformat the data into meaningful information. (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 240) Establishing an information policy Although there are numerous CIMB Banking Acts like, Banking Financial Institute Act1989 (BAFIA) section 97 secrecy, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) GP7 confidentiality, CIMB Group Code of Ethics governing the information policy, it is still a good practise to draft information policy for MSF sales division. More specific guidelines, rules and penalties in controlling MSF information policy for sharing, disseminating, acquiring, standardising, classifying and inventorying information systems. (Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, pg 259) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is widely implemented strategy for managing a firm interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. Most banks will have their own CRM. CRM is only possible if there is enough data captured which can be transfer into information and CRM uses the information formed by the data to enable the user better forecast the needs and wants of the customers. At this moment, CRM is not available in MSF. 3. CLOUD COMPUTING AND ITS BUSINESS BENEFITS AND COSTS National Institute Of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines Cloud computing as a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. The benefit of early adoption of cloud computing in Global 2000 enterprises enables organization on cost savings on maintaining its IT infrastructure. Therefore organization started to invest in cloud computing to take advantage on better infrastructure utilization by way of automation and charge back over virtualized infrastructure to help to improve its over-all utilization. 3.1 Type of Cloud Computing General there are 4 basic type of cloud computing and it is depend on organization on which type is suitable for its application delivery and business services. Type Description Private Cloud Cloud service that are merely for the use of the organization and provided by third party and it services may be free or offered on a pay-per-usage-model. Community Cloud Cloud service that are share among several department in the organization and managed by third party or service provider Public Cloud Cloud service available to public use over the internet and managed by third party by offering free services or pay-per-usage model. Hybrid Cloud A environment in which organization provides and manages some of its resources in-house for storage of operational data and has others provided externally by third party. This advantages the organization of the scalability and cost effectives without exposing its important applications and data to the third-party vulnerabilities. 3.2 Cloud Services and Capability The CIMB MSF division can adopt three basic types of cloud services, defined by NSIT and it is also accepted by the business industry. Cloud Services Description Software as a Services Software applications like ERP, collaboration that runs on the service provider IT infrastructure and delivers to the organization through the internet by way renting the software applications Platform as a Service The user organization can access the hardware platform and operating system over the internet on a pay-per-use basis. Infrastructure as a Service It is cloud computing platform which allow user organization to storage, process and networking through the service provided IT infrastructure by way of on a pay-per-use model. 3.3 Benefits of Cloud Computing Reduced cost Cloud technology is paid incrementally, saving organizations money. The organization is able to plan the needed expenses more wisely. By cloud computing the cost is proportion to the requirement. Increased Storage Organizations can store more data than on private computer systems. Highly Automated No longer do IT personnel need to worry about keeping software up date and backup. Cloud computing will automatically do the update and backup the system giving the organization more time to do business than fixing the problems on its own. Flexibility Cloud computing offers much more flexibility than past computing methods. More Mobility Employees can access information wherever they are, rather than having to remain at their desks from morning till evening which is tiring and sometimes a boring job. The cloud made the business go mobile. Allows IT to Shift Focus No longer having to worry about constant server updates and other computing issues, organizations will be free to concentrate on innovation and research and development. This help business and product growth in the long run. 3.4 Cost of Cloud Computing Today, many large firms are burden with redundant, incompatible hardware and software because departments and divisions have been allowed to order and purchase their own technology. This make the cost of owning technology assets are relatively high. The cloud concept is paying what you use and no minimum fee required. The users are paying either on a monthly subscription fees or per transaction basis which are composed of the following mandatory components:. Management Interface at $6.25 per month Platform creation cost Application template Release Low usage (one time fee) Average Usage (one time fee) Frequent Usage (one time fee) SAP ERP 6.0 Eh P4 $29 $179 $679 SAP Enterprise Portal 7.0 Eh P1 $19 $169 $669 SAP Solution Manager 7.0 Eh P1 $49 $199 $699 SAP Business Intelligence 7.0 (BI Cont 7.05) $39 $189 $689 SAP Ides CRM 7.0 $39 $189 $689 Computing infrastructure cost This cost will only be charged when you operate your platform. Operational support and the used computing infrastructure as cpu, memory, a static network address and network traffic are included. Configuration Set CPU Memory Low Usage (per hour) Average Usage (per hour) Frequent Usage (per hour) 1-5 users 4 core 8 GB $1.99 $1.68 $1.49 6-10 users 4 core 12 GB $2.68 $2.37 $2.18 11-15 users 4 core 16 GB $3.37 $3.06 $2.87 16-25 users 8 core 18 Gb $3.98 $3.67 $3.48 4. RECOMMENDATIONS OF CLOUD COMPUTING 1 Market Demand for Your Firms Customer Services, Supplier Services Enterprise Services 2 CIMB / MSF Business Stratefy 6 Competitor Firms IT Infratructure Investments CIMB / MSF IT Services Infrastructure 4 Information Technology 5 Competitor Firms IT services 3 CIMB / MSF IT Strategy, Infrastructure Cost 4.1 Market Demand for CIMB / MSF Services Transaction processing system (TPS) A system that store, modify and retrieve the transactions of MSF. However, all TPS must pass through atomicity, consistency, isolation and durability, otherwise known as the ACID test. Decision support system (DSS) executive support system (ESS) DSS is a decision support system for middle level management and executive support system is for higher management. DSS and ESS not only provide better judgement, the system also enable what if analysis, which we can create several scenario to get the best desired result. Below is a diagram of DSS which consist of MIS. In order for a DSS or ESS to be created MSF must first have MIS, TPS and DBMS as all these systems are interrelated. An example of such software can be found at Vanguard Software corporation (www.vanguardsw.com) However, not all managerial roles are supportive using either DSS or ESS such as interpersonal role as a leader, decisional roles in a conflict between staff. Management information system (MIS) Report exceptional conditions, such as when the sales quota for a specific territory fall below an anticipated level or high staff turn-over for a certain department. MSF do not have MIS as report generated only upon request of individual. Database management system (DBMS)- is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance and the use of a database. DBMS will allow MSF conveniently develope databases for various applications by database administrators (DBAs). A DBMS also provides facilities for controlling data access, enforcing data intergrity, managing concurrency control, recovering the database after failures and restoring it from backup files as well as maintaining database security. Opportunity in internet banking can be explore as there is no sales link or contact us link uploaded in CIMB Bank website, CIMB internet banking more known as CIMB Clicks does not provide any leads to MSF nor does it provide contact details of MSF. MSF should explore the business opportunity in internet banking by creating a website for MSF. There is also demand for detail breakdown of incentive paid to sales staff. At this moment, no detail breakdown of incentive paid even in CIMB intranet and extranet, Human Resource Information System HRIS https://hris.cimb.com 4.2 CIMB / MSF Business Strategy MSF five year vision is to be the best in class sales organisation with a passion for exceeding expectations. Best in class sales organisation means number one mobile sales force in Malaysia and in sales productivity among our region peers. In order to achieve this long term five years plan, MSF will need to improve it present information system and possibility of setting up its own IT department. 4.3 CIMB / MSF Information Technology (IT) Strategy, Infrastructure Cost MSF does not have an IT strategy but are using 400 desktops and 200 laptops. Giving an example of setting up a MSF office will easily cost more than MYR100,000. Below are the example of the breakdown costs: Hardware acquisition Each brand new desktop cost about MYR3,000. Software acquisition License software for Microsoft windows and office cost about MYR2,000 each desktop. Installation Installing an office of 5 desktop cost about MYR10,000. Training Training cost can be diversified as senior staff of MSF can train new recruits. Support Support cost had been diversified as all IT technical support are provided by CIMB IT department, GIOD. Maintenance Infrastructure Downtime Space and energy 4.4 Information Technology Assessment CIMB Group spent MYR108 million last year for IT which is the highest among all other banking peers. Despite the large number, CIMB MSF still using some computer unit with windows XP instead of window Vista or 7, Intel pentium4 processor instead of Intel core processor and monitor screen instead of liquid crystal display (LCD). Most of CIMB group IT spending is on developing of a new CRM known as 1 View. However, the 1 View CRM is not provided to MSF. 4.5 Competitor firm services Banks Special IT Features Availability in CIMB HSBC Bank Online application tracker No Online file upload services for credit card No Public Bank E-mall for online shopping within PB website No Maybank Green calculator for online banking environmental cost savings calculation No UOB Office locator for mobile team, providing contact person and office address No 4.6 Competitor firm IT infrastructure investments Competitor Banks 2010 IT Spending Comparison with CIMB Group IT spending Maybank Group 61,000,000 56% of CIMB Group IT spending RHB Bank Group 72,000,000 66% of CIMB Group IT spending Public Bank Group 41,000,000 38% of CIMB Group IT spending HSBC Bank Group 15,000,000 14% of CIMB Group IT spending UOB Bank Group 90,000,000 83% of CIMB Group IT spending * all data are based on individual banks 2010 annual report 5. CONCLUSIONS The following summarises the findings and recommendations as outlined below. 5.1 Summary of key findings The study leads to the conclusion that cloud computing has the potential to transform IT, not necessarily through its impact on an agencys core business systems, but through commoditizing routine services such as e-mail, web servers, and data storage. Cloud computing can also easily deliver services that are common across government, such as accounting, procurement, and collaboration tools. If CIOs can increase their reliance on commodity computing, they will then have more time and resources to focus on the strategic management of IT and provide leadership and value for their agencies. We hope that this timely and informative report will be useful to profes ­sionals and executives across government who are seeking innovative approaches in order to leverage the new technology of cloud computing in their effort to reform and improve ITprograms and the delivery of services to both government itself and to citizens. 5.2 Recommendations 5.3. Limitation of Studies LIST OF REFERENCES Department of Finance and Deregulation 2011,  Cloud computing strategic direction paper: opportunities and applicability for use by the Australian Government  , viewed 5 April 2011, and 22 May 2011 . Mell P Grance T 2011, The NIST definition of cloud computing (draft) , viewed 19 March 2011, . Wyld, DC 2009, Moving to the cloud: an introduction to cloud computing in government , viewed 19 March 2011, . Laudon, KC Laudon, JP 2010, Management information systems: managing the digital firm, 11th edition. Cirrus cloud computing : Price list, viewed on 30 April 2011 CIMB Statement on Internal Control 2007 and Annual Report 2010 http://www.cimb.com/annual_reports/CIMB_Bank/2007/pdf/SOIC.pdf http://announcements.bursamalaysia.com/EDMS/subweb.nsf/7f04516f8098680348256c6f0017a6bf/65487497790102fe482578640016d4a2/$FILE/CIMB-AnnualReport2010%20(3.2MB).pdf http://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/search/query?start=0filter=1q=SAAS, IAAS PAAS, APPENDICES Appendix 1: Journal Appendix 2: Cost and Benefits Appendix 3: Cloud Computing Benefits Appendix 4: Problems With Data Centre Power Consumption Appendix 5 : Power Consumption For Each Computer Appendix 1: Journal (390 words) Thomas 24 March, 2011 Thursday: Conducted informal interview (9:30am) with Sim, Customer Service Engineer. Obtained basic information of MSF IT infratructure Thomas 03 April, 2011 Sunday: Visited report writing presentation by Adrian Stagg Lindy Kimmins (11:00pm) Thomas 03 April, 2011 Sunday: Seek permission from MSF Head (10:30pm), Mr. Daniel Cheong on selecting MSF Department for assignment 4 Thomas 04 April, Monday: Approval obtained by Mr. Daniel Cheong at 12:06am Thomas Janet 04 April, 2011 Monday: Both of us arranged to communicate through phone and email as we are from different parts of the country after office hours at 7.30pm. We discussed briefly on which of the organization intended to work on to our assignment report. In the end, after much discussion we decided to select either one of our company which we are currently employed for our assignment report after which we have discussed with our relevant IT department in our next meeting. Thomas Janet 04 April, 2011 Monday: We communicate again at 8.30pm. After much exchange informations of our survey on our IT department, we decided to select company, CIMB Bank Bhd as the organization to work on for our assignment report due to the good support from his company IT personnel. Next we discussed about the plan on how to complete our assignment through allocation of jobs. As we have selected my company to work on for our assignment report, Thomas 05 April, 2011 Tuesday: I log into CIMB Group website www.cimb.com/index.php?tpt=cimb_group and started my introduction part of my report (11:00am) Janet 06th April, 2011 Wednesday: I visited a few website : www.finance.gov.au/e-government/strategy-and-governance/cloud-computing.htm,    www.isaca.org/Knowledge-Center/Research/Documents/Cloud-Computing-28Oct09-Research.pdf  and www.startupbizhub.com/business-benefits-of-cloud-computing.htm which give me some information on opportunities of adoption by the Australia Government Thomas 08 April, 2011 Saturday: Sent email (8:30pm) to MSF Head personal assistance, requesting for MSF organisation chart, MSF IT infrastructure Eco system Janet 11 April, 2011 Monday: Visited the Australia Department of Finance and Deregulation 2011 again and started to complete the Executive Summary for our assignment. Thomas 16 April, 2011 Saturday: Visited USQ study desk for assignment 4 resources (9:00pm) http://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=trueid=391393 Visited Wikipedia for pseudonym http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudonym (9:20pm) Reading assignment 4 mock up report (10:00pm) Reading CIMB Group Rules for Business Conduct (11:00pm) Janet 25 April, 2011 Monday: Compute the company IT Infrastructure Ecosystem diagram provided by Loudon Loudon 11e (page 203) and visited http://www.intek.net/a/images/netdesign.gif for fictitious diagram on corporate network infrastructure Janet 30 April, 2011 Saturday: Compute the cloud computing benefits and it cost Thomas 09 May, 2011 Monday: Checking and resizing fonts size for assignment paper (12:00pm) Browse CIMB Group website http://www.cimb.com/index.php?ch=g2_aupg=g2_au_leadercat=bodtpt=cimb_group for CIMB Group CEO profile. Browese USQ website

Tourism to Hong Kong

1. 0 Introduction Hong Kong is one of the most important tourism destinations in the Pacific Asia region for its unique landscape and shopping convenience. According to statistics, a total number of 41921310 people visited Hong Kong in 2011, that is 16. 4% more compared to 2010 (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012). Total tourism expenditure was 263142. 71 million HK dollars and shopping accounts for most of them because it is the main purpose for individual visitors (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012).Therefore, to sustain tourism prosperity while seeking development in the city, it is necessary to understand its unique geographical features and precisely examine the tourism trends. Meanwhile, analysing factors that have influenced tourism development will also contribute to the study. Besides, eco-tourism and climate issues are discussed as implications for the future. 2. 0 Findings 2. 1 Physical and human geography 2. 1. 1 Location Hong Kong is a mountainous citylocatednearShenzhen, China.The re are four main areas in the city, including Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New territories and Outlying islands, and their area add up to 1100 square kilometres (Cullinane&Cullinane, 2003). For the reason of its unique landscape, approximately 40% of Hong Kong is built up as country parks (Cullinane&Cullinane, 2003). 2. 1. 2 Demography The city enjoys of a population of 6. 7 million, and it is growing at a rate of one million every ten years (Cullinane&Cullinane, 2003). 2. 1. 3 Political statusFor over 150 years before 1997, Hong Kong had been governed by the British administration, and it became a part of People’s Republic of Chinaonce again on July 1st, 1997 (Cullinane&Cullinane, 2003). This reunification has brought opportunities and enormous changes in Hong Kong. 2. 2 Pattern of tourism 2. 2. 1 Visitor arrivals Figure 1Visitor Arrivals 2007 – 2011 (‘000) Source: (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2008, 2010, 2012) Figure 1 shows the total number of visitors to Hong Kong in every single year from 2007 to 2011.Visitors are divided into three categories, including overnight visitors, same-day in-town visitors, and Cruise-in/Cruise-out Passengers. It is indicated in the figure that overnight visitors occupied most of the visitors. Table 1Visitor Arrivals Details by Country/Territory of Residence 2007 – 2011 (Overnight Visitors – ‘000) Source: (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012) Table 1 shows that Mainland China has the most visitors to Hong Kong in the past five years, with an annual growth rate of approximately 15%.Besides, Taiwan, Japan, the USA and South Korea are also generating a large number of tourists to Hong Kong, leading to tourism prosperity of the city. 2. 2. 2 Total tourism expenditure Figure 2Total Tourism Expenditure Associated to Inbound Tourism Source: (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012) Figure 2 shows total tourism expenditure from 2007 to 2011 and the line chart presents an increasing trend. The growth rate is rather high i n 2010 and 2011 as a result of the tourist boom in those years. 2. 3 Factors that have influenced tourism in Hong Kong 2. 3. 1 Outbursts of infectious diseasesIn 2003, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) attacked the city of Hong Kong and led to the devastation of Hong Kong tourism. Originated in southern China, SARS was a mystery to the rest of the world until several people were infected in a hotel in Hong Kong and brought the disease back to their home country. Before understanding the danger and risk that would have been brought by SARS, the World Health Organization (WHO) made a recommendation to the world that Asia, especially areas of Hong Kong, Singapore, Mainland China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan, were not advisable destinations for tourism (McKercher& Chon 2004; Kuo et al. 008). This unprecedented announcement caused significant panic in the world, tourists were quarantined for no reason after returning to their country, breeding industry was interrupted for disinf ection on chicken farms, and Asians were restricted from traveling elsewhere. The mess finally led to the crackdown of tourism in Asia, with Hong Kong suffering the most (McKercher& Chon 2004). This outburst of SARS uncovered huge hidden dangers in the world tourism system.The governments’ over-reaction tounclear threat was nothing but rational (Mao, Ding & Lee 2010). The crisis was a lesson for the world on the relationship between tourism and crisis management, the government should act more judicious so that diseases could be effectively controlled and meanwhile, tourism does not suffer to a great extent. 2. 3. 2Construction of city infrastructure Since the accelerated development of infrastructure in Hong Kong in the 1990s, the number of tourists has experienced a continued increase (Poon, Yu & Ng 2001).Tourist infrastructure mainly includes apartments or hotels for accommodation and transportation infrastructure, and the latter consists of facilities for planes, trains, ships and other modes of transportation (Gossling 2002; Khadaroo 2007, 2008). Researchers have found that the ability of a city to attract tourists is largely determined by the level of traffic infrastructure in the city (Khadaroo 2007), for the reason that rational city planningand well construction of ports could provide convenience for tourists, which leads to smooth trips.Successful travellers are willing to recommend their tourism destinations to their friends, and this will further lead to lasting prosperity of that destination. Although most facilities in Hong Kong are relatively complete, there remain some incompletion. An example is medical facilities needed for medical tourism. Hospitals in Hong Kong provide high level healthcare services, and the government attempts to boost medical tourism in the city (Heung, Kucukusta& Song 2011). However, the lack of medical resources ends up to be the barrier which prevents tourists with medical needs from cutting edge technologies in Hong Kong.As a result, Hong Kong failed to build its reputation as a medical tourism destination. 2. 3. 3 Outbreaks of financial crises Hong Kong has experienced two major financial crises during past two decades, the Asian financial crisis burst out in 1997 and the world financial crisis in 2008 (Song & Lin 2010). This report mainly focuses on consequences that were brought to tourism in Hong Kong by the latter crisis. Table 1 shows that the USA, UK, Japan and Singapore are among the source markets that generate most tourists to Hong Kong.The high market share of long-haul markets indicates that Hong Kong tourism is vulnerable to world economy and thus would be negatively influenced if something went wrong. In 2008, tourists from long-haul markets such as the USA and European countries declined by 10% and hotel rooms were less occupied than ever before (Song et al. 2011). If the tourists increasing rate before the crisis is taken into consideration, conclusions could be drawn that the financial crisis really affected tourism in Hong Kong to a great extent.Fortunately, tourists from Mainland China were not greatly influenced by this enormous crisis and visitors continued to travel to Hong Kong. This prevented the city from tremendous losses. Nevertheless, the overall expenditures dropped in 2009 which leads to the conclusion that financial crises could impose great threats to tourism in Hong Kong (Song & Lin 2010). 2. 3. 4 Adjustments of policies towards Mainland China After introducing the Individual Visit Scheme on July 28, 2003, citizens of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdongare allowed to apply for visas and visit Hong Kong on anindividual basis (Wu, Li & Song 2012).The scheme was implemented forthe acceleration of tourism development in two special administrative regions in China, and it is successful according to statistical results. Statistics show that the number of tourists from the source market of Mainland China increased by 24% in 2003 compared to tha t of 2002, and most of the growth was contributed by individual visitors (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012). As a matter of fact, thousands of Mainlanders have boosted into Hong Kong for the purpose of shopping and Hong Kong has become the paradise for shopping in the eyes of Mainlanders ever since (Wu, Li & Song 2012).In order to guarantee long-term prosperity of businesses, merchants targeting Mainlanders have made adjustments regarding to shopping customs of Chinese consumers and the crucial point of the efforts is to create an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation (Wu, Li & Song 2012). Since tourists from Mainland China occupy approximately 60% of total tourists every year, it is important that policies towards Mainland China remain mild in the coming years to sustain tourism prosperity in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012). 2. 4 Implications for the future of tourism 2. 4. Sustainable tourism practices Experience has shown that it is almost impossible to develop tourism while maintaining a clean environment at the same time. However, people have been making efforts to seek some extent of harmony and unity between the two. Hong Kong is a perfect city for the development of eco-tourism for it has a spectacular landscape, including mountains, valleys, coasts and islands (Ng & Li 2000). Hong Kong government has been successful protecting the city’s natural resources, it had the highest percentage of the park area in the worldin 2000 (Ng & Li 2000).Besides, Hong Kong enjoys a large variety of both animal and plant species, some of which cannot be found elsewhere in the world (Ng & Li 2000). Enchanting as the scenery is in Hong Kong, eco-tourism is not a main form of tourism there. The following factors may account for this result. First of all, Hong Kong is in the sub-tropical zone, and the typical summer is so hot that people will feel uncomfortable to visit popular attractions (Ng & Li 2000). Second of all, eco-tourism destinations are usually sensitive to the number of visitors, thus, they normally have a low capacity (Ng & Li 2000).Rational management regulations should be made to balance tourism satisfaction and the necessary visitor limitationneeded for scenic spots. Finally, more experts in guidance have to be trained to provide information of spots (Ng & Li 2000). It seems that there is still a long way to go before eventually launching a successful eco-tourism plan in Hong Kong. 2. 4. 2 Climate change How climate change will affect the pattern of tourism has long been studied. Studies have shown that as climate change will either directly or indirectly influence tourism (Chan & Lai 2012).One of the main results of climate change is the rise in temperature. According to statistics, Hong Kong’s temperature has been surging during the past 15 years, and it is almost 5 degrees Celsius higher than 10 years ago (Chan & Lai 2012). The high temperature will definitely bring uncomforting experiences to tourists,. Thu s, it is likely that potential visitors will change their destinations elsewhere. Besides, although some tourists might not consider the temperature increase itself as a crucial factor in determining their destinations, the change due to this phenomenon, such as increased travel expenses, will affect tourism ehaviour to a great extent (Chan & Lai 2012). While efforts have been made towards lowering the speed of temperature increase, the results turn out not assuring. Although climate change does not affect tourism in Hong Kong as much as that in tourism-oriented island cities, people should deal will this issue seriously before it is too late. 3. 0 Conclusion In conclusion, although Hong Kong has been through some hard times, the city remains potential as a tourism destination.This report discusses the city of Hong Kong from tourism aspect. As an important city in the Pacific Asia region, Hong Kong has enjoyed a fine reputation among tourists. Its unique landscape and special locati on have attracted and are still attracting visitors in large scales. During the past two decades, several financial crises have imposed danger on tourism in the city to a great extent, but a few policy adjustments, especially the policy of opening up to Mainland China individual visitors, saved the industry from collapsing.Eco-tourism could be further developed to balance economic development and environment protection, but several issues need to be solved before concrete implementation. Climate change is also a challenge that needs early planning, thus, effective efforts demand immediate attention. ? References Chan, GKY & Lai, MTH 2012, Understanding Climate Change, Carbon-offsetting and their Impacts on Travel Behaviour, viewed 24 November 2012, . Cullinane, S , K 2003, ‘Hong Kong City Profile’, Cities, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 279-288.Gossling, S 2002, ‘Global environmental consequences of tourism’, Global Environmental Change, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 283-302. H eung, Vincent CS , Kucukusta, D & Song, H 2011, ‘Medical tourism development in Hong Kong: An assessment of the barriers’, Tourism Management, Vol. 32, No. 5, pp. 995–1005. Hong Kong Tourism Board 2008, A Statistical Review of Hong Kong Tourism 2007, viewed 21 November 2008, ; http://partnernet. hktb. com/filemanager/publication/143330/Default. html;. Hong Kong Tourism Board 2010, A Statistical Review of Hong Kong Tourism 2009, viewed 21 November 2010, ; http://partnernet. ktb. com/filemanager/publication/143332/Default. html;. Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012, A Statistical Review of Hong Kong Tourism 2011, viewed 21 November 2012, . Khadaroo, J , B 2007, ‘Transport infrastructure and tourism development’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 1021–1032. Kuo, HI, Chen, CC, Tseng, WC, Ju, LF & Huang, BW 2008, ‘Assessing impacts of SARS and Avian Flu on international tourism demand to Asia Original Research Article’, Tourism Management, Vol. 29, No. 5, pp. 917-928.Mao, CK, Ding, CG & Lee, HY 2010, ‘Post-SARS tourist arrival recovery patterns: An analysis based on a catastrophe theory Original Research Article’, Tourism Management, Vol. 31, No. 6, pp. 855-861. McKercher, B & Chon, K 2004, ‘The Over-Reaction to SARS and the Collapse of Asian Tourism’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 716–719. Ng, CN & Li, Y 2000, Eco-tourism in Hong Kong: its potentials and limitations, Kiskeya Alternative, viewed 23 November 2012, . Poon, CS, Yu, ATW & Ng, LH 2001,‘On-site sorting of construction and demolition waste in Hong Kong’, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 157–172. Song, H, Lin, S 2010, ‘Impacts of the Financial and Economic Crisis on Tourism in Asia’, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 16-30. Song, H, Lin, S, Witt, SF & Zhang, X 2011, ‘Impact of financial/economic crisis on demand for hote l rooms in Hong Kong’, Tourism Management, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 172–186. Wu, DC, Li, G & Song, H 2012, ‘Economic Analysis of Tourism Consumption Dynamics: A Time-varying Parameter Demand System Approach’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 667–685.

Poverty in the Philippines Essay

This article needs more links to other articles to help integrate it into the encyclopedia. Please help improve this article by adding links that are relevant to the context within the existing text. (April 2013) This article’s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2012) The estimates of poverty incidence in the Philippines per province as of 2012. The national average is 22.3%, virtually unchanged from 2006’s 23.4%. Poverty remains a critical social problem that needs to be addressed. Philippines’ poverty line marks a per capita income of 16,841 pesos a year.[1] According to the data from the National Statistical Coordination Board, more than one-quarter (27.9%) of the population fell below the poverty line the first semester of 2012, an approximate 1 per cent increase since 2009.[2] This figure is a much lower figure as compared to the 33.1% in 1991.[3] The decline in poverty has been slow and uneven, much slower than neighboring countries who experienced broadly similar numbers in the 1980s,[4] such as People’s Republic of China (PRC), Thailand, Indonesia (where the poverty level lies at 8.5%) or Vietnam (13.5%). This shows that the incidence of poverty has remained significantly high as compared to other countries for almost a decade. The unevenness of the decline has been attributed to a large range of income brackets across regions and sectors, and unmanaged population growth. The Philippines poverty rate is roughly the same level as Haiti.[4] The government planned to eradicate poverty as stated in the Philippines Development Plan 2011-2016 (PDP). The PDP for those six years are an annual economic growth of 7-8% and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Under the MDGs, Philippines  committed itself to having extreme poverty from a 33.1% in 1991 to 16.6% by 2015. This article’s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2012) Rapid population growth[edit] Given that the population of the Philippines is increasing at a rapid rate of 2.36% per year, this can be translated as an increase of more than 5,000 people daily in a country that already has an increase of more than four million poor people since 1985.[5] In 1985, the absolute number of people living in poverty was 26.5 million. This increased to 30.4 million in 2000 and from 2006 to 2009, increased by almost 970,000 Filipinos from 22.2 million to 23.1 million.[4] As the Philippines has financially limited resources and a high poverty rate, the rapid increase in population has become a problem because there is insufficient resources to support the population, which leaves much fewer resources to improve the economy. From 2003 to 2006, even though the Philippines experienced above-average economic growth, the poverty incidence increased as a result of its population growth rate.[6] Unemployment[edit] Poverty reduction has not kept up with GDP growth rates, largely due to the high unemployment rate, high inflation rate and wide income inequality. The official rate of unemployment for 2012 in the Philippines was 6.8 per cent.[7] This was an increase of joblessness even though in 2012, the GDP grew at 6.6 percent. From 2000 to 2009, the economy of Philippines grew by 3.2% on average annually, which was on par with the economic performance of  its neighbors.[8] However, this recent growth did not translate into more jobs. Unemployment in the Philippines has been high in comparison to its neighbors, at around 7.5% to 8.0% since 2006.[9] The Philippines has faced difficulty in job creation due to its inability to attract more foreign, direct investments. Diwa Guinigundo, who is the Central Bank Deputy Governor, mentioned that while capital flows are turning to the emerging markets,[10] foreign, direct investments to the Philippines remain relatively low due to the weak investment climate. The Philippines has hefty business procedures, poor tax and customs administration, weak protection against expropriation and high-energy cost. Therefore, the poverty rate remains constant over the years. ≠¥ REFERENCE: WIKIPEDIA Philippines: A Strategy to Fight Poverty Poverty Profile The Philippines has achieved only modest reductions in poverty at a national level since the economic and political collapse of the mid-1980s. In addition, severe regional disparities remain. The proportion of households living below the official poverty line has declined slowly and unevenly from 59 percent in 1961 to below 39 percent in 1991 and around 36 percent in 1994. Urban poverty stood at around 23 percent in 1991 and rural poverty at 53 percent (by World Bank staff calculations). Food poverty (or those living below subsistence) was around 20 percent of households in 1991, but 32 percent of rural households while only 12 percent of urban households. Two-thirds of the poor are engaged in the agriculture, fishery, and forestry sectors and have an elementary school education or less. However, the depth of poverty is relatively small (with the poverty gap index only 17 percent in 1991, having fallen by 40 percent since 1961), and income disparities among the poor have declined noticeably. Since 1971, the urban poor have become a rising share of the total poor population, but still two-thirds of the poor live in rural areas. The depth of poverty is nearly 2 1/2 times larger in rural areas than in urban areas. The urban poor are concentrated in Luzon, while the rural poor live predominantly in Mindanao and the Visayas. Poor households in the  Philippines tend to combine into extended families to conserve household assets. Thus, larger households are observed as having greater poverty than smaller households: households of 8 or more members represent nearly a third of all the poor. The incidence and severity of poverty is significantly lower among elderly and female headed households in the Philippines, in striking contrast to the evidence from other developing countries, again because these households tend to be absorbed into others. It also reflects women’s strong position in the labor market in terms of relative pay and attachment compared with many other Asian countries and even relative to many OECD countries. Incentive and Regulatory Framework Philippine performance on poverty reduction has been disappointing compared with the rest of East Asia, but the Philippines has not been able to sustain growth long enough to reduce its incidence of poverty to the levels attained by its neighbors. GDP growth averaged only 1.1 percent per annum in the 1980s. Further, the pattern of growth in the past tended to accentuate rather than reduce income disparities. Slow growth of higher productivity sectors resulted in absorption of labor in low productivity employment in the 1970s and 1980s. The industrial sector shrank over this period, and agricultural growth slowed dramatically. More importantly, poverty declines were modest even when the economy was growing rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s because of the distorted structure of the economy. Policies discriminated against labor, subsidized capital-intensive methods of production, and gave low priority to agriculture and exports. This resulted in growth that was narrowly based and inequitable, trapping many people in marginal, low paying occupations such as upland agriculture, rural wage labor, and informal employment in cities. Infrastructure was highly concentrated in Metro Manila. Government interventions, especially in the 1970s and early 1980s, tended to diminish the role of market mechanisms in favor of regulation by parastatals and promoted oligopolisitic control in important sectors of the economy. This inward-looking strategy was inherently unstable, and so the economy lurched from balance of payments crisis to crisis. In the wake of across-the board structural reforms of the financial sector, agricultural pricing and marketing, the tax system, the foreign trade and investment regimes, and government corporations, the experience of the Philippines in  the late 1980s showed that accelerated growth in a more liberalized economy has a positive impact on incomes of the poor and that poverty declines during periods of rapid growth. Between 1985 and 1988, when GDP growth averaged 4.8 percent, the poverty headcount fell by 1.3 percentage points each year, an achievement equivalent to Thailand’s long-term rate of poverty reduction. Analysis of the economic growth of 1985 to 1988 concludes that deregulation in agriculture and greater control over inflation were likely the key factors that improved the lot of the poor. Labor market performance has also shown signs of improvement. Public Expenditures Public expenditures on education in 1994 were less than 3 percent of GDP compared with 4 percent in Indonesia or 7 percent in Malaysia, despite inching upwards since the late 1980s, after over almost two decades of limited investment through the 1970s and early 1980s. Public primary education remains relatively under-financed, and funding is based on pupil headcount without any compensatory mechanisms to assist the most â€Å"at-risk† areas, schools, or ethnic groups. Thus, in the Philippines, poor youth are much more likely to drop out of school or get a poor quality education. The Philippines spends comparatively less of its resources on health than several other East Asian nations, both publicly and privately (spending 0.6 percent on GDP on health publicly and 2.4 percent of GDP on health overall). In addition, public health gains are not as great as they should be because of the poor distribution of health facilities and personnel over the country. The poor would benefit from more emphasis on primary care and the reduction of environmental risk factors (which induce disease disproportionately among the poor). In many cases, the improvement of other infrastructure such as rural roads will allow existing health facilities to be used more intensively. As a result of the fiscal decentralization enacted in 1991, most traditional poverty alleviation programs except education have become the responsibility of local governments, limiting the ability of the central authorities to implement programs of national priority. At the same time, the current revenue sharing arrangements with local governments (set by a legal formula) do not redistribute resources towards poorer provinces. Also, by devolving functions and whole institutions to local government, expertise and efficiency in many areas has been (at least temporarily) lost  and likely is weakest in poorer provinces. The variation in capacity and resources calls for continued attention by central authorities–for technical assistance, capacity building, and incentives to raise revenues locally. Safety Net The Philippine Government has implemented a number of safety net programs, ranging from cash and in-kind income transfers (such as food subsidies and nutrition interventions) to wage employment programs and livelihood creation programs. In response to natural disasters, the National Food Authority distributes assistance to affected areas in the form of subsidized rice. In addition, the private sector, NGOs, and foreign donors have been actively assisting in the planning, financing and execution of many of these programs. However, the government’s set of programs do not constitute an efficient and equitable social safety net: (i) they are fragmented and not a consistent or adequate response to the problem; (ii) they have generally failed to mobilize communities to help themselves; and (iii) recent changes of institutions and strategies are creating problems of transition that tend to obscure priorities in the government’s delivery of social services or make additional de mands on an ill-equipped bureaucracy and cadre of field workers. Poverty Strategy Policymakers must not waver in keeping the economy outward-oriented and geared towards competition, because an East Asian-style economy is far more likely to be able to sustain the rapid and smooth rate of growth that is fundamental to improving the welfare of the poor. To reach the government’s target of reducing the number of families living below the poverty line from 39 percent in 1991 (by official measures) to 30 percent by 1998, it is estimated that GNP will need to grow by about 6.5 percent annually for 1996 to 1998. Many of the urban poor will be helped directly by growth, as employment opportunities respond to increased demand. Even a good number of the rural poor will find their incomes rising, as demand for agriculture-based products, especially exports, expands. However, significant reduction of rural poverty will require improvements in health and education and infrastructure (especially roads, markets, and agricultural extension). Access to the means of production by the rural poor  is crucial. It is time to revisit how to accomplish the goals of rural land reform so that the intended beneficiaries–the poorest of farmers and landless agricultural workers–can benefit. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, which has accomplished a number of its original goals, is getting too expensive and complicated. Tenancy should be allowed once again, as a useful interim state between landless labor and owner-cultivator status. A market-assisted land reform program should be studied to explore options for reducing costs. Investments with the greatest impact on the poor, e.g., rural infrastructure, should be a priority for use of scarce public funds In urban areas, the scarcity of affordable housing (a problem aggravated by skyrocketing land prices) and threats to environmental health must be addressed. It is now urban, rather than rural, land reform that should be a priority for government action. Tax and regulations on land ownership and development need to be revised. A commission should consider options to balance the rights of dwellers in irregular settlements with the legal owners of urban properties. Water and sanitation services must be extended to poor urban areas. The government should hesitate to spend more money on housing since little of it helps the truly poor. Investment in human capital must be increased by improving the quantity and the quality of primary education and access to primary education in rural areas. Primary health services must be strengthened, especially immunization and prevention of water-borne and respiratory diseases. The social safety net must be consolidated and targeted. General food price subsidies should be stopped, in favor of targeted income subsidies or food stamps and supplementary feeding programs. The National Government should redirect resources formerly used for government livelihood programs towards creating an enabling environment for private institutions to provide credit to the poor successfully. To foster the growth of a healthy microfinance sector, government financial institutions should focus on wholesale lending, ensuring adequate capital is available to reach the poor. Statistical System The key survey for poverty data in the Philippines is the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, conducted every three years. The survey questionnaire is of standard form, more or less comparable to an LSMS format. An important limitation on the relevance of these data for policy purposes has been the  long delays for processing, e.g., the 1991 results became available only in early 1995. Also, the household survey sample is not large enough to allow provincial indicators to be calculated for the smaller provinces. This basic dataset is not integrated with the social sector and other data (surveys on health, demographics., labor force and occasional censuses of population and housing) or with government expenditure information. Monitoring of poverty and the relative performance of the provinces and cities is an important continuing role for the National Government, even after fiscal decentralization. The report recommends that the government expand the household survey and integrate and improve existing statistics and program information so as to provide crucial assistance to the provinces in setting priorities and in raising awareness down to the community level of how well the government is meeting the minimum basic needs of the people. The World Bank has provided technical assistance and grant funding for training and equipment for the government agencies involved (as well as generating interest by other donors) and will continue to do so. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPA/0,,contentMDK:20204974~menuPK:435735~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:430367~isCURL:Y~isCURL:Y,00.html Poverty in the Philippines: Causes, Constraints and Opportunities Description New ADB Report: â€Å"Taking the Right Road to Inclusive Growth† Poverty and inequality in the Philippines remains a challenge. In the past four decades, the proportion of households living below the official poverty line has declined slowly and unevenly and poverty reduction has been much slower than in neighboring countries such as the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Economic growth has gone through boom and bust cycles, and recent episodes of moderate economic expansion have had limited impact on the poor. Great inequality across income brackets, regions, and sectors, as well as unmanaged population growth, are considered some of the key factors constraining poverty reduction efforts. Causes of Poverty The main causes of poverty in the country include the following: low to moderate economic growth for the past 40 years; low growth elasticity of poverty reduction; weakness in employment generation and the quality of jobs generated; failure to fully develop the agriculture sector; high inflation during crisis periods; high levels of population growth; high and persistent levels of inequality (incomes and assets), which dampen the positive impacts of economic expansion; and recurrent shocks and exposure to risks such as economic crisis, conflicts, natural disasters,and â€Å"environmental poverty.† Key Findings The report’s key findings include the following: Economic growth did not translate into poverty reduction in recent years; Poverty levels vary greatly by regions; Poverty remains a mainly rural phenomenon though urban poverty is on the rise; Poverty levels are strongly linked to educational attainment; The poor have large families, with six or more members; Many Filipino households remain vulnerable to shocks and risks; Governance and institutional constraints remain in the poverty response; There is weak local government capacity for implementing poverty reduction programs; Deficient targeting in various poverty programs; There are serious resource gaps for poverty reduction and the attainment of the MDGs by 2015; Multidimensional responses to poverty reduction are needed; and Further research on chronic poverty is needed. The report comprehensively analyzes the causes of poverty and recommends ways to accelerate poverty reduction and achieve more inclusive growth. In the immediate and short term there is a need to enhance government’s poverty reduction strategy and involve key sectors for a collective and coordinated response to the problem. In the medium and long term the government should continue to pursue key economic reforms for sustained and inclusive growth. Oct2013 Poorest Country in the World: Democratic Republic of Congo You might be surprised to find that the United States isn’t the richest country in the world. Actually, that crown goes to Qatar who has recently jumped ranks to take first place. But what about the other side of the spectrum, the parts of the world struggling with devastating poverty? Well, on that end the Democratic Republic of Congo comes in first – or last, to be more accurate – with the lowest GDP per capita than any other country. Determining a country’s rank in wealth isn’t the easiest of tasks when you sit down and think about the data and economics involved. However, a good indicator of a nation’s standard of living is the assessment of its GDP (gross domestic product) per capita, which is defined as the total value of all domestic goods and services that country produces annually, times its PPP or purchasing power parity. GDP per capita (PPP) isn’t a perfect shot because its purpose isn’t to calculate that kind of econ omic rank but it’s measured frequently, widely and consistently, allowing trends to become visible. In 2010, GNI (gross national income) per capita replaced GDP in the calculation, but the list is the same between the two. Qatar was still first with about $100,000 GDP per capita (PPP) in 2012 just as it was on the GNI list and the Democratic Republic of Congo came in last at around $370 GDP per capita (PPP). The gap is massive. Of the 40 poorest countries in the world, a solid 33 are in Sub-Saharan Africa. They include Zimbabwe, Burundi, Liberia, and Niger. Other parts of the world notoriously infamous for high poverty rates include Afghanistan, Haiti, and Nepal. But none of these places takes it quite as harshly as the Democratic Republic of Congo (not to be confused with the Republic of Congo) whose turbulent past and bloody wars have eclipsed the nation’s potential to thrive. Since its independence in 1960 and once the most industrialized country in Africa, Congo has bled onto the ground because of its lack of infrastructure and the brutal impact of civil war. Disputes between Congo’s prominent rival groups, the Hutu and Tutsi, erupted after the Rwandan Genocide in which 500,000 people, mostly Tutsi, were victims of mass slaughter by the Hulus in the East African state of Rwanda. The result was an exodus of over 2 million Rwandans fleeing to neighboring countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, known in that  time as Zaire. Most of the refugees were Hulus attempting to escape the Tutsi who had climbed to dominance at the end of the genocide. The Hulu refugee camps in Zaire, however, became politicized and militarized and when Tutsi rebels invaded Zaire to repatriate the refugees, the conflict escalated into the First Congo War in 1996. The situation only grew worse and by 1998, the Second Congo War, which was sometimes called the â€Å"African world war† because it involved a total of nine African countries and twenty armed groups, devastated Zaire and laid waste to her population and economy. The political turmoil continues today despite intervention and peace attempts and is one of the world’s deadliest conflicts with a death toll of 5.4 million people. More than almost 90 percent of the conflict’s victims, however, died due a lack of access to shelter, water, food and medicine – all severely aggravated by displaced and overcrowded populations living in unsanitary conditions. Not to mention, 47 percent of deaths were children under 5 and some 45,000 children continue to die each month. The nation also faces the problem of human rights and the countless crimes against humanity because while many have returned home, an estimated 1.5 million are still displaced. DR Congo is also infamous and heavily criticized for its treatment of women. The east of the country has been described as the â€Å"rape capital of the world† and rates of sexual violence has been described as the worst in the world. It doesn’t help that DR Congo is consistently poisoned by corruption and greed. While mining growth has somewhat boosted the country’s economy, the elite are said to syphon off revenue for their own personal gain due to the nation’s lack of strong central government. Conflicts over basic resources, access and control over rich minerals and oil, and political agendas are some of the many complex causes behind the Democratic Republic of Congo’s inability to rise among the ranks and take the title of the poorest country in the world.

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