TWorking Paper No. 91/12' from the National Centre for Development Studies at the ANU. This paper examines the reasons for poverty in Thailand, assesses the effectiveness of the policies currently being employed to alleviate poverty and recommends policies which could be introduced to ease poverty.

Thailand is a developing country which has seen impressive economic growth over the past 40 years, growth that has provided consistent, but uneven, reductions in absolute poverty. Successive governments have faced the task of alleviating the poverty of life of those left behind in urban slums, often sited alongside luxury tourist and business buildings, and the poor who remain in rural areas. There is no effective social safety net. Democracy in Thailand is a fragile concept and the military coup in 2006 removed a Government that saw as its mission the inclusion of the poor in a capitalist enterprise, Thai Style, with self-reliance as its aim. This research tracks the development of Thai government policy and examines its effectiveness through the voices of the poorest in Thai society. This book is aimed at policy makers, practitioners, and researchers in politics, health and welfare, and for those people involved in tourism who are interested in the costs behind the famous welcoming Thai Smile.

This is the sixth issue of the "Thailand Social Monitor." It is written for Thai policymakers, to provide them with the best evidence currently available on poverty and public policy, and to strengthen the foundation for anti-poverty strategies in Thailand. This report approaches Poverty in Thailand from four perspectives: 1) the changing profile of the poor, who they are, where they live, their defining characteristics, so as to better understand the dimensions of the problem (Chapters 1 and 2); 2) the changing profile of income inequality in Thailand, to assess whether income distribution should be an issue for public policy (Chapters 3 and 4); 3) some of the strategic, cross-sectoral issues that are at the center of public policy debates on poverty reduction in Thailand (Chapter 4); and 4) the performance of recent policies and programs to reduce poverty, so as to appreciate the strengths and limitations of public policy in this challenging domain (Chapters 5 and 6). The coverage of this report is thus broad. However, while chapters 5 and 6 analyze targeted poverty interventions, they do not capture the full range of public efforts to reduce poverty, nor do they address the anti-poverty benefits of universal programs, such as education, health, transport, or agricultural services. Also, macroeconomic policies are not covered.

Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Economics - Case Scenarios, grade: "none", , course: PhD, language: English, abstract: Abstract: To reduce inequality in income distribution and reduce the poverty social welfare spending in Thailand particularly on education and health services is regarded as one of the effective instruments. Policy makers agree that public subsidies on education and health produce positive externalities and have spill over effect in the society. This research is designed to analyse the effects of public spending of education and health on income distribution which examine the pre-expenditure and post-expenditure income distribution in Thailand. It follows the benefit incidence analysis (BIA) that is a method of computing the distribution of public expenditure across different demographic groups, such as women and men. The procedure involves allocating per unit public subsidies (for example, expenditure per student for the education sector) according to individual utilization rates of public services. This paper aims at examine who are the real beneficiaries from the government expenditure. The study uses the quantitative method where data are used of 2010. From the benefit incidence analysis on the public expenditure on education it seems that education system is pro-poor and health care system are not pro-poor rather pro-rich. The poor people can be benefited more from the primary and secondary education and less benefited from the tertiary education. However, overall expenditure on education is favourable to the poor which proves from the income share of household. In this perspective, The Thai government should emphasize on higher education for poor by providing special loan created only for them and universities should also be adopted the policy so that poor income class people can access the opportunity. Government can increase the charge and fees for private higher education where normally rich households send their children. By doing so, government can earn more and spend for poor people. Regarding the healthcare system, Thai government should emphasize on preventive care than curative from which the whole nation will be benefitted. The programmes should be continued and more expenditure should be added to this. Government should charge tax on private healthcare system that will help collect more money and invest for the poor people. Since rich tends to go to the private hospitals, government will take money from the rich and spend for poor people. This process will minimize the income inequality.

Focusing on the concept of comparative advantage, this study examines the role & effectiveness of private non-governmental organizations (NGOs), contrasted with public, business & international agencies. The most important findings support alternative development strategies. They show that development approaches based on self-reliance, indigenous culture & religious values, implemented by grass-roots organizations, are viable. Although still limited in scope, the potential for qualitative development is documented with field data gathered from more than twenty development NGOs, including CARE, the Adventist Relief & Development Agency, the Christian Childrens Fund & from a cross-section of indigenous local organizations. The book presents a detailed analysis of the private non-profit development community in Thailand within the context of a comprehensive conceptual framework applicable to developing societies in general. This study is of special interest to development professionals, educators & individuals seeking a better understanding of complex global issues & approaches to sustainable development.

On 25 January 1997, a coalition of rural villagers and urban slum dwellers from every region of Thailand commenced a mass demonstration in from of Government House in Bangkok. This became a defining moment in the struggle of the Assembly of the Poor to mobilize and sustain people in their nonviolent attempt to force the government to address their grievances, many of which involved large-scale development projects that adversely affected their communities. Over twenty-five thousand people joined the rally, refusing to move until the government responded to their petition. In the end, the rally became an extended, ninety-nine-day encampment in the heart of the city. This book chronicles the development of a national protest movement, analyzing its origins, strategies, and goals within the context of a growing democratic and civil society. Using an anthropological approach, Bruce Missingham bases his research on ethnographic fieldwork among the men and women who participate in the Assembly, including a broad spectrum of villagers, village leaders and NGO activists. He explores the processes underlying mass mobilization and the social construction of protest, discusses the contradictions and conflicts that have arisen, and considers the degree of participation and democracy within the grassroots movement. Finally, he describes the Assembly's campaigns and changing fortunes following the Thai economic crisis in mid-1997 and looks at the results of its sustained protest activities.