While Thailand historically has been known to have a fairly strong economy, it experienced setbacks in 2013-15 as a result of domestic political turmoil and slow global demand. Since then, the Southeast Asian country has undergone a period of economic growth, advancing as a middle-income country and moving toward achievement of its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), poverty in Thailand has decreased from 21 percent in 2000 to about 12.6 percent in 2012, 7.9% of the population lives below the national poverty line last 2017. But the proportion of employed population below $1.90 purchasing power parity a day in 2017 is 0.0%. This 2020, Thailand poverty is expecting to lower down to 6.7% but we're still monitoring the purchasing power of the country if there will be a bit of a movement.
Thailand’s economy grew at an average annual rate of 7.5% in the boom years of 1960 to 1996 and 5% following the Asian Financial Crisis during 1999-2005, creating millions of jobs that helped pull millions of people out of poverty. Gains along multiple dimensions of welfare have been impressive: more children are now getting more years of education, and virtually everyone is now covered by health insurance while other forms of social security have expanded. After average growth slowed to 3.5% over 2005-2015, with a dip to 2.3% in 2014-2016, Thailand is now on the path to recovery. The Thai economy posted the highest growth rate in six years, at 4.1% in 2018, despite external shocks to trade and tourism.
Poverty declined substantially over the last 30 years from 67% in 1986 to 7.8% in 2017 (as measured by the upper-middle income class poverty line of $5.5/day) during periods of high growth and rising agricultural prices. However, in recent years, progress in poverty and inequality reduction has slowed down, mainly due falling agricultural prices and slower wage growth. This led to low and negative growth in household consumption among the poorer segments of the population and caused a small increase in inequality. As of 2014, over 80% of the country's 7.1 million poor live in rural areas. Moreover, an additional 6.7 million were living within 20% above the national poverty line and remain vulnerable to falling back into poverty.
While worsening and stagnating poverty and inequality conditions were seen between 2015-2017, positive indicators are emerging in 2018 that may signal renewed progress in poverty reduction. In 2018, employment increased after four years of decline, led by strong recovery in agricultural employment. In line with rising employment, the unemployment rate was the lowest in eight quarters.
According to the World Bank Human Capital Index, which measures the productivity level for the next generation of workers relative to their full if all education and health outcomes were maximized, finds that while Thailand scores in the upper half of the various indicators compared to ASEAN countries and other upper-middle income country peers, there remains room for improvement.
For Thailand, unequal education quality is a big challenge, with poorer areas being underserved. Small under-resourced schools with inadequate infrastructure and education materials are mostly located in poorer regions of the country. A Thai child born today can expect to obtain 12.4 years of school before the age of 18. However, the same Thai child can expect to complete only 8.6 learning-adjusted years of schooling, indicating a learning gap of 3.8 years.
Thailand has laid out its long-term economic goals in its 20-Year National Strategy (2017-2036) for attaining developed country status through broad reforms. The reforms address economic stability, human capital, equal economic opportunities, environmental sustainability, competitiveness, and effective government bureaucracies. Recent reforms include the implementation of large multi-year public infrastructure projects related to dual tracking of railways, regulatory reforms aimed at improving ease of doing business, setting up the State Enterprise Policy Committee to improve state-owned enterprise governance, the transfer of supervisory oversight of specialized financial institutions to the Bank of Thailand, the approval of progressive inheritance and property taxes, and the launch of the National Savings Fund, a retirement safety net for informal workers.
Mr. Robert Chan, CEO of Robert Chan International Ltd told AdChoiceTV News that Thailand is the 6th out of 10 in Southeast Asia Country with 7.9% poverty rate where Myanmar is still on the 1st spot with 32.1% poverty rate followed by Lao's Republic with 23.2% and the Philippines on the 3rd spot with 21.6%. He also said that while it is important to note the remarkable progress that has been made in Thailand, certain challenges and conditions still pose a threat to the entire Thai people and the society. With a massive population of more than 68 million as of 2017, poverty in Thailand affects many individuals, business person and more. Fortunately, with awareness and assistance, there are opportunities for the nation’s recovery to eliminate poverty and help boost prosperity for all citizens.
Moving Forward, Just more than 38 percent of the population have at least some secondary education. Advancements in education have been particularly impressive and a large contributor to reducing poverty in Thailand as a whole. - ADCHOICETV NEWS
No comments:
Post a Comment