Some links between education, household well-being and credit markets: Evidence from rural Philippines

Two diverse Filipino village communities were intensively surveyed and then focus-group discussions were held among their members. These discussions indicated that members of the less well-off community, compared with the one which was better-off, see fewer benefits to be derived from investing in education. This information has implications for determining how the level of community well-being should be measured. In addition, those households with better access to credit and basic infrastructure invested more in the education of children. This insight suggests how the design of poverty-alleviation expenditure programmes might be improved in rural Philippines at least.