State of the Nation’s Well-Being

Annual Report 2018

National Monitoring and Evaluation Committee

Office of National Well-Being

(This report is available in Thai, Melayu, Hmong, Sgaw, Pwo, and Pa'o Karen, Lao, Khmer, Burmese, Chinese and English)

 With thanks to the Monitoring and Evaluation Committees at the neighbourhood, community, district and zone levels, for collecting and compiling the data on which this report is based.

Well-Being

The major indicators of national well-being continue the upward trend seen in last year’s report.  The most significant exception is the decline in GDP per person, reflecting the global trend since the economic crisis began in 2008.  However, while cash income per person, measured by purchasing power parity, has fallen over the past year, this is more than offset by improvements in entitlements in the form of free or subsidized life-long education, healthcare, old age, disability and unemployment benefits, housing, basic foodstuffs, public transportation and utilities, such that the overwhelming response from the population is that they are better off with less money.

Employment

Since the decision in 2009 to make full employment a higher priority target than GDP growth, great strides have been made in redeploying the millions made redundant by the collapse of the capitalist economy and in reducing underemployment and informal sector employment.

Most re-employment in the early years was in sustainable agriculture (now by far the dominant form f agriculture in the country: see Food Security below) and natural resource protection and regeneration, primarily in government-initiated reforestation projects.  However employment opportunities are now increasingly available in small-scale manufacturing.  Apart from goods for local consumption, this manufacturing base is rapidly expanding in the area of renewable energy technologies, where export quantities are growing.  This has been made possible through local collaboration between academic institutions and community enterprises.  The huge variety of innovative technologies that have been developed in this way allows Thailand to offer tailor-made renewable energy solutions to neighbouring countries that failed to invest in this area.  Employment in services, especially life-long education, healthcare based largely on traditional methods and care for the old and disabled, is also growing, if more slowly.

The net result is that Thailand is close to achieving full employment, not only for its own population, but also for large numbers of migrant workers from neighbouring countries, especially those which have failed to respond to the global economic crisis in a way that creates employment.  While maintaining a migrant worker registration programme for monitoring persons, migrant workers have, by statute, full rights to healthcare, education for their children, classes in Thai, and vocational training that they will be able to use when they return to their own countries.  It is hoped that the experience of these workers will complement the diplomatic efforts that Thailand is making, with some success, to influence the social and economic policies of its neighbours.

Food Security

Thailand has managed a remarkably swift transition from a market- and export-oriented agriculture dependent on high levels of agro-chemicals to a system of various forms of sustainable agriculture.  This represents an intensive, yet environmentally-sensitive pattern of cultivation that both feeds the nation (with a substantial surplus for export), stewards resources (land water, seeds) for long-term sustainability, and provides productive employment for a large sector of the population. 

The energy shortages that have severely curtailed large-scale industrial production have had the beneficial effect of more or less eliminating the production of mass-produced processed foods, with the result that the Thai diet now contains more fresh fruits and vegetables and is significantly healthier, with effects already being seen in the public health system (see below).

The decision in 2010 to withdraw from the WTO (which has since collapsed for want of members) has meant that Thailand was able to ban the dumping of cheap food imports from countries attempting to use food as a weapon and to preserve its food sovereignty.

Energy

The collapse of the global energy market as part of the economic crisis and the need for a massive and rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions prompted the government to provide incentives for renewable energy.  This has taken the form of direct support for the design of renewable energy technology based on solar, wind, wave and geothermal sources, subsidies for community-built and -managed energy generation, and promotion of the export of technological know-how.  While large-scale electricity generation has had to be limited, leading to a contraction of industrial production, Thailand’s energy needs for domestic use (lighting, refrigeration, etc.), transportation, and small-scale manufacturing are being met from a largely hydrocarbon-free economy.  The current largest consumer of fossil fuels is the aviation industry, now a fraction f its former size, and the government has in hand plans to make Thailand a leading developer and manufacturer of renewably-powered airships.

Public Health

Programmes to promote healthy eating, exercise, and a holistic approach to health are beginning to have an effect on morbidity and mortality figures in the country.  The incidence of heart disease, diabetes, some forms of cancer related to lifestyle and environmental factors, and certain psychiatric illnesses is showing signs of decline.  Given that reliable measurement is notoriously difficult, there are indications that general stress levels in Thai society have also declined, which will also have beneficial effects on health.

Economy

As the economy gradually evolves from a capitalist system with concentrations of wealth and power in relatively few hands, to an enhanced sufficiency economy where economic decision-making power is devolved and equity is an explicit goal, a number of initiatives are proving successful.

Non-interest-bearing community currencies are now found in almost all areas of the country, most now linked into exchange systems at the zone level.  An economics research team is currently working on the development f a national-level exchange system, leading ultimately to the extinction of the baht and the elimination of interest in the country’s financial system.

Since the 2008 collapse of the stock exchange, leaving most shares worthless, enterprises have been able to seek financing from community savings groups and credit unions (or in the case of large-scale financing, from credit union leagues).  This enables communities to retain control over companies and ensures compliance with environmental, health and safety and tax regulations, without the need for a large government bureaucracy.

As communities take a greater role in resourcing, managing and participating in welfare functions such as education and healthcare, the central government’s share of the economy is gradually shrinking, leading to possibilities for reducing taxes while maintaining the same level of overall well-being.