Resource information
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.
