ACHIEVING an 8 percent growth rate for a certain period of years is the key to bringing down the Philippine poverty level to a single digit. So said Bernardo Villegas, the academic economist known for two things: an unwavering "prophet of boom" and a relentless opponent of population control. In a nation that has yet to turn out a single economist that is high up in the REPEC rankings, or one remotely considered for a Nobel Prize in economics, declarations from the highly-credentialed Mr. Villegas carry weight. Many in the economic and political establishments consider his declarations to be gospels of economic truth.
It is safe to assume that Mr. Villegas holds the view that impressive growth rates will lift all boats, and the gains trickle down to those living in poverty, and that is the basis of his 8 percent growth equals poverty reduction thesis.
