DIVISION OF GEN.

TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

12

GENERAL TRIAS SKILL

BUILDERS

A Worktext in
Applied Economics

Quarter 1
Week 2

WORKSHEET NO. 2:
NAME OF COMPETENCY : Basic Economic Problems
Confronting the Development of the Philippines in the 21st
Century

GEAR UP / GABAY Page 1 of 14

 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

At the end of this worksheet, the learners will be able to:

• identify the different economic problems in the Philippines
• explain each economic problem and how it affects Philippine development in the
21st century
• explain how applied economics can be used to solve economic problems
confronting the country

ENGAGE / ENGGANYO
This part should contain a brief explanation of the important points that the learners
need to know about the target competency.

In the ADM Module, this part is WHAT I HAVE LEARNED or some important excerpts
from WHAT IS IT.

Any society, regardless of its size, degree of development and political system,
tries to solve the basic economic problems. In the Philippines, though we are a
fast growing economy still need to address the issues of poverty, unemployment,
weak infrastructure. These economic problems are hindrances to development
most of every country.
It is sometimes called the basic or central economic problem which asserts
that an economy's finite resources are insufficient to satisfy all human wants and
needs, although the needs and wants of people are endless, the resources
available to satisfy needs and wants are limited.
In this chapter we are giving the learner some information on the economic
challenges of the country and some data to cope up with the lesson.

What are the Basic

Economic Problems?

The major obstacles to development are the following:

Poverty

Page 2 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

(source: BY ZUHUMNAN DAPEL| MAY 17, 2019, 10:48 AM)

Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs.
Poverty and inequality in the Philippines remain a challenge. In the past four decades,
the proportion of households living below the official poverty line has declined slowly
and uneven . (A.M. MANDREZA, 2012)

Absolute poverty -refers to the severe deprivation of human basic needs. People who
earn ₱50 or less per day are considered to experience absolute poverty.

Signs of Poverty

 Malnutrition/hunger
 Bad living condition
 No to schooling
 Child labor
 Poor economic growth

Common Causes

 Increase in the population

 Increase in the cost of living
 Unemployment
 Income inequality

What can be done to address poverty?

 Reduce unemployment
 Appropriate policy on labor income
 Provision of unemployment benefits for those who will be unemployed due to
calamities.
 Increase budget for social services like education, health care, and food
subsidies.

Unemployment

Page 3 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

(Source: https://philippineslifestyle.com/)
Limited job opportunities caused unemployment, consequently resulted in
poverty. Since there are few job opportunities in the country, many don’t have
sustainable income to support their basic daily needs like food. Unemployment hinders
the economic development of a country since the human resources are not efficiency
utilized. (A.M. MANDREZA, 2012)

Common Causes of Unemployment

 Lack of quality graduates

The quality of graduates has also steadily declined such that professions requiring
qualifying examinations such as medicine, accountancy, library science, and others
suffer high failing rates. In nursing, for example, the passing rate in 1998 was 55.8
percent. In 2006, it went down to 45 percent and in 2010, it was a low of 39 percent .
Thus, those who desperately need jobs but do not qualify in their desired professions
settle for work as domestic helpers or nannies and blue-collar workers, either or
abroad. Still, there is a greater number of the unemployed who are unable to take on
available jobs because they are not connected with what they learned.

 Lack of experience

Inability to take on available jobs or seize opportunity. Because of lack of related skills
and experience, jobless workers or fresh graduates are unable to take on careers that
are available in the job market. Some would think it's unimaginable to take to take a
job that's too unrelated to the course he/she finished in college. With little or no
entrepreneurial skills, many job hunters are unable or unwilling to establish own
business.  

 Apparently clueless job applicants

Its hard, if not impossible, to land a job if an applicant doesn't even know where to
start. Even if they're looking at a job description, some of them are unable to figure out
how to fill up a form, how to use e-mail service or find the address of e-mail service or
find the address of the recruitment agency.

 Structural Unemployment
Structural unemployment occurs when there are shifts in the demand among the
industries. The workforce possesses skills for jobs that were previously high in demand.
With the shift in demand for jobs, supply for the jobs that were previously high in
demand outstrips the demand for these jobs. As a result, many people become
unemployed until market equilibrium is reached, where supply market equilibrium is
reached, where supply equals demand.
Page 4 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

 Oversupply of graduates
The number of graduates has been increasing over the years. Getting a degree is all too
common nowadays. However, the labor force does require so many graduates. Even the
richest country cannot employ 100% of their people.

 Lack of job generation

One reason is that job creation has struggled to keep pace with an ever-expanding
population. In three of the past five years, the number of people entering the job market
has been greater than the number of jobs created,

What can be done to address the unemployment problem?

1. Appropriate economic policies for labor-intensive industries.

2. Improve the educational system of the country especially in the rural areas.
3. Minimize rural-urban migration by improving the economic environment in rural
areas.
4. Proper coordination between government and the private sector to solve the problem
of job mismatch.
5. Slowing population growth.
6. Provision of more investment opportunities.
Weak Infrastructural

(Source: https://mediaindia.eu/)
The Philippine has underinvested in infrastructure. It was ranked 97 th out of 137
nations in the World Economic Forum (WEF) report for 2017-2018. Insufficient
infrastructure has been a major constraint to economic growth and poverty education
in the Philippines that resulted in weak public services, traffic in urban areas etc.
(https://rappler.com/business/infrastructure-philippines-wef-global-competitiveness-
index-2017-2018)

Common causes

Page 5 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

 Graft and Corruption

 Weakness in planning, coordination and financing.
 Poor business environment

What can be done to solve the poor quality of infrastructure problem?

 The government shall implement fiscal reform programs.

 Improving central oversight of the planning and coordination of investment.
 Focus on investment through public-private partnerships to achieve faster
delivery of service.

INCOME INEQUALITY

(Source : https://www.ibon.org/ph)
It refers to the gap in income that exist between the rich and the poor.

INCOME- refers to the money that an individual earned from work or business

Common Causes

 the rising proportion of urban households,

 age distribution changes,
 increasing number of highly educated households, thus affecting competition
 wage rate inequality.

What can be done to solve the income inequality problem?

 Policies to enforce progressive rates of direct taxation on high wage earners

and wealthy individuals.
 Direct government policies to keep the price of basic commodities low
 Raise minimum wage

Page 6 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

INFLATION

(Source: https://www.reuters.com/)
It refers to the sustained and continual increase in the prices of goods and
services. Economic growth as indicated by increasing GDP, is the factor in bringing
about inflation. Hyperinflation or very high inflation has negative effect in the economy.
A period of high inflation, slow economic growth and high unemployment is called
stagflation

Common Causes

 cost-push inflation. It only occurs when there is a supply shortage combined

with enough demand to allow the producer to raise prices
 Demand-pull inflation is the most common cause of rising prices. It occurs
when consumer demand for goods and services increases so much that it
outstrips supply

What can be done to solve/ reduce the inflation problem?

 Monetary policy – Higher interest rates. This increases the cost of borrowing
and discourages spending. This leads to lower economic growth and lower
inflation.
 Tight fiscal policy – Higher income tax and/or lower government spending,
will reduce aggregate demand, leading to lower growth and less demand-pull
inflation
 Supply-side policies – These aim to increase long-term competitiveness, e.g.
privatization and deregulation may help reduce costs of business, leading to
lower inflation.

Page 7 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

TEST / TALAB

Activity 1:

In the succeeding lesson, we are about to study the many of principles, laws
and theories developed in economics can be applied to a number of fields. We learned
that Applied Economics is the application of economic principles and theories to real
life situations and trying to predict the outcome. It is simply observing how theories
work in practice.

Applying economics to the status of the economy of a country helps eliminate all
attempts to dress up. In other words it prevents making situations appear better or
worse than they are.

Applied economics has successfully proven to be helpful in addressing the

country’s unending economic dilemmas. The tools of applied economics can be used in
understanding socioeconomic and business issues, as well as can also be used in
proposing alternative solutions to socioeconomic and business problems.

As we go along with the lesson, students will acquire more on how the applied
economics helps to develop the material dimension of a society.

In your Opinion ?
Among the challenges to Philippine development, which should be given top priority by
the government? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
What are the policies made by the Duterte Admistration to address all the economic
problems? Enumerate at least three (3). Explain.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
____________________

Page 8 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

Activity 2:
Read each statement and answer the following.

1. One of the basic problems confronting the development of the Philippines is

poverty. Formulate a program that aims to alleviate poverty.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2. In three to five sentences, write the importance of applied economics in solving

the economic problems in the country using your own words.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. Differentiate Economics and Applied Economics by giving illustrative example.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________

4. John Cedrick, a grade-12 student who wants to increase his savings for the
reason of, he wanted to buy a motorcycle that can be used to his every day
journey in going to school. If you are John Cedrick, how can you solve the
problem?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________

5. What do you think is the role of grade 12 students in studying the economic
challenges of the Philippines?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Page 9 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

REINFORCE / RUBDOB
This part serves as additional practice for the learners to reinforce the skill /
competencies that they need to learn. It should be a little more difficult than what they
answered in Test. This part may also include activities that would allow them to
collaborate with members of their family.

There is no part in the ADM module for this one.

Activity 3:
It is important to understand that economic problem can alleviated
through the joint action of citizens and/or community resources. Collective
efforts can be done in two ways. First, the government makes a program or
policy that truly accurate based on current data and information. Second, these
economic challenges can be solved by collective action by communities so as to
create a society that is more ideal conditions and progressive.

Answer the given table according to the question follows:

A. Identify different economic problems in your barangay that need to be

addressed?
B. Identify the possible causes of the problem?
C. How the local official can solve that problem?
D. As a good citizen, what is your contribution to settle the said economic
problem?

Name of Barangay:______________________

Problem Causes Solution Individual

Contribution
Ex. Flooding Uncollected garbage 1. Regular schedule 1. Throwing
of garbage garbage in the
collection garbage can
2. garbage
Segregation
3.Seminar on 4Rs
of recycling
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Page 10 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

INTEGRATE / IRAL

This section provides an activity which will help the learners transfer their new
knowledge and skills into real life situations or concerns. The exercises in this part
should engage the learners in looking how to use what they learned in daily life
situations and make the connection between the skill / competency and its usefulness
in life.

In the ADM Module, this part is WHAT I CAN DO.

Solving the economic problems becomes everyone’s concern. The citizens, private sectors
and the government have their own duties and responsibilities to improve our economy. Progress
must begin with us. We have to become responsible citizens to achieve personal and national
development. Each contribution, big or small has great impact in the economy’s success.

Direction : Look at the various institutions listed below. Write a few sentences that tell how each
can help minimize the economic problems in the Philippines. Give examples of what each should
do to help support the economy.
Ex: Bank – Give low interest rate on loans for small business and borrowers. Small business
owners will have more capital, therefore creating local employment.

1. Small Business
_________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Page 11 of 14
 4. Student
DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
_________________________________________________________
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
________________________________________________________
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

6. Bank
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
2. Worker
_________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

3. Family
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
ASSESS / ANTAS
4. Students
This is
a task _________________________________________________________
which _________________________________________________________
aims to

evaluate the learners’ level of mastery in achieving the target

5. Big Business
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

learning competency. This may be similar to a summative

test or any form of assessment that will gauge how much the learner
understood the lesson.

In the ADM Module, this part is ASSESSMENT.

Test I
Identification: Write the answer on the blank provided.
__________________________1. It refers to the basic equipment and structures that are
needed for a country to function properly.
__________________________2. It includes quality of roads, improvement in public
transport, traffic in urban areas, water resources, energy infrastructure and ITC
infrastructure
__________________________3. It refers to the portion of the labor forces that are willing
to engage in productive activities yet fails to do so.
__________________________4. It pertains to the wealth and resources of a country or
region, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.

Page 12 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

__________________________5. It refers to the gap in income that exists between the rich
and the poor.

Test II
True or False: Write true if the statement is correct and false if the statement is wrong.
_________________________1. Provide free meals, housing and adequate clothing are the
most appropriate intervention for the people who are in the absolute poverty.
_________________________2. Adequate and strong infrastructure of a country has
debilitating effects on the individuals, households, business firms, and economy.
_________________________3. The supply of labor is also influenced by the wage rate, if
wage rate is very low, very few laborers are willing to work.
_________________________4. The objective of the government in setting the minimum
wage is to provide indecent life for workers.
_________________________5. Positive economic growth rates will decrease spending and
help businesses to grow.

Test III: Give 5 economic problems not discussed in the lesson.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

SHARPEN / SANAY
In this portion, another activity may be given to the learners to enrich their knowledge
and skills of the lesson learned. This may be in the form of reflection or other
performance activities that may tap into the learners’

In the ADM Module, this part is ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

1. Interview Activity
The learner is about to interview a local people in their community (preferably older people who
can remember price changes). Ask the guided questions below and write a short report about to
their answers.
 Have prices increased in the last 5-10 years?
 How much have they increased?
 Which goods have increased the most?

Page 13 of 14
 DIVISION OF GEN. TRIAS CITY
Project ISuLAT Mo Gen. Trias Worksheets
(Intensified Support to Learning Alternatives Through Modules and Worksheets)

 Which goods have increased the least?

 Have the prices of any goods decreased?
 Why do you think the prices have increased / decreased?

With the interview, what you have observed? What economic problem is being stated? Explain
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

2. Read and paste an article from any magazine or newspaper stating one economic issues either
local, national or international that you think has great impact in the economic development of the
Philippines. Then, try to answer the following questions.
What is the effect of the issues in the Philippine economy?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
How does the government address the problem?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

Page 14 of 14