How Do Government Debt and the Phillips Curve Affect Social Protection of Filipinos?

Abstract

Social Protection has been one of the priorities of the Philippine government as it is crucial in reducing poverty and improving the social status of Filipinos, especially the poor and vulnerable. This study investigates the effect of Government Debt and the Phillips Curve on the social protection expenditures of the public sector in the Philippines from the period 1991 to 2022. Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis, the study identified that rising unemployment rate leads to declining social protection as labor market distortions and difficulties in social welfare systems are created. Meanwhile, government debt and inflation rate are found to be statistically insignificant with a direct and inverse relationship, respectively. The findings suggest that a policy involving employment generation must be implemented to provide efficient social protection among Filipinos.