Poverty in Thailand: Degree, Distribution and Determinants

Abstract

Thailand, classified by the World Bank as a 'middle low-income country', experienced high growth during the 1960s and 1970s. Yet, in 1975, 31% of total population, or an estimated 13 million people, were living in poverty. The proportion of population in poverty was known to have declined from 39% in 1968. Thailand, therefore, had some success in poverty removal. This dissertation tried to find some explanation for the following questions. What was the extent of poverty in Thailand? How was poverty distributed among the regions and areas in Thailand? What characteristics did the poor have in Thailand? What were the determinants of poverty in Thailand? All these questions relate to the period during the 1960s and 1970s. Since there are many determinants of poverty, Jorgenson's model of the low level equilibrium trap and Sen's entitlement approach were chosen to serve as a farmework for the analysis of the determinants which were: population growth, technological progress, and income/land distributions. It was found that on the whole, these three determinants explain poverty in Thailand, but the explanation was different for different regions. Although all three explained why the Northeast was the poorest region, for the North, land distribution and technical progress were more important, for the South, population growth and technical progress were more important, for the Central, land distribution was most important, and for Bangkok, urban poverty was explained mainly by rapid immigration and low labour productivity. Based on these findings, some broad policy conclusions were made. It must be mentioned that the author was aware of the dangers of reaching conclusions based on unreliable and incomplete data. However, the best use of available data and information have been made on the assumption that they represent the true situation and it is believed that some small contribution has been made towards the question of poverty in Thailand.