Publication Code: Y88C
by Suganya Hutaserani and Somchai Jitsuchon
Over the past few years, the pace of economic development in Thailand had accelerated significantly. With manufactured exports growing at 35-40% per annum for almost three consecutive years, economic growth this year likely to be near 10% in real terms, and many are mentioning Thailand as the leader of the next wave of the NIC's. The current success has however highlighted a number of problems needs to be taken care in order to maintain and guarantee the future economic development. One such problem, and perhaps the most important one, is the distribution of income and welfare issue.
This paper has three objectives. They are
First, to overview the facts of income distribution and poverty profile before 1986 where the suitable information is available.
Second, to examine and identify factors that influence household income and income inequalities.
Third, to assess the impacts of the rapid economic changes Thailand has experienced recently on the distribution of income and poverty incidence.
The paper consisting of four chapter. Chapter 1 reviews Thailand's economic and social development in a number of dimensions which will provide basic understanding about he circumstances that relate to the problem of income distribution and poverty. Chapter 2 clarifies the facts of the distribution of income and poverty incidence before 1986 and decompose sources of income inequalities and sources of inequality changes. Chapter 3 extends the analyses to cover distributions of other indicators of welfare, namely, social services, human capital assets, and physical assets. Conventional income-generating functions are also estimated to finds out the determinants of household income and income inequality. Chapter 4 shows the simulation that assesses impacts of recent economic success on the distribution of income and poverty.
December 1988