United Nations development goals

IN September of 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustatainable Development Goals (SDGs), each with specific targets that are to be achieved within a 15-year period or by 2030.

The 17 SDGs include: the eradication of poverty; zero hunger; good health and wellbeing; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry; innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice and strong institutions; and, partnership for the goals.

I asked some young people to write about one or several of these SDGs and connect them to economics and their own personal experiences. I am just so proud of them that at that young age, they can be very analytical and critical. I will be featuring their essays here in this column. Here are the first two.

-o0oThis first essay is written by Hazel (Yerin) Choi and she writes about NO POVERTY.

I think that this goal is the most important goal since there are many people in the Philippines who still lives in poverty. Furthermore, the Gawad Kalinga group has inspired me to think that it is urgent to reduce the number of people in poverty in the Philippines.

In economics, poverty is a condition where people have very low or no income. Poverty eventually leads to unequal distribution of income when it is not resolved or when the number of people in poverty is not reduced.

There are two types of poverty: absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is when the basic needs are not met and the individual lives with lesser than $1.25 a day while relative poverty is when the individual receives a little lesser income compared to the average income level of the country. Both types of poverty are caused by several factors.

One factor which causes poverty is when an individual is born in a low income household. This will cause the individual to have no opportunity at first and may give the no incentive to earn money. This leads to a poverty cycle where the poor stays poor.

Another factor, which causes poverty, is when an individual has no or unfinished education. Without education, people won’t be able to be employed or won’t know how to use money wisely.

Furthermore, unemployment also can be a factor which causes poverty. Unemployment is when an individual is willing to work but is out work and searching for a work. When an individual is unemployed, they won’t be able to stably earn money. This will eventually lead to the inability to meet the basic needs of human such as shelter, food, water, and furthermore.

Lastly, poverty can be caused by natural disasters. In the Philippines, there are a lot of deadly typhoons which occurs in a year. These typhoons can lead to the destruction of houses and lead to shortage of food and water. Eventually, this also leads to poverty.

In order to successfully resolve or reduce the issue with poverty, the government can use two solutions. The first solution is to impose minimum wage. Minimum wage is when the government sets the wage above the equilibrium.

Since people stay in poverty when they earn low income, by setting a minimum wage and increasing the wage, it will be able to reduce the people who stay in poverty. This will give an opportunity to the lower income earners.

However, there are negative aspects of this solution. When minimum wages are imposed, the companies have to pay more to their employees, which lead to the increase of their cost. When the cost increases, the companies are given the incentive to