Social Welfare Benefits in Thailand A Diagnostic of

Social Welfare Benefits in Thailand: A Diagnostic of Welfare Gaps SOMCHAI JITSUCHON THAILAND DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH INSTITUTE 10 AUGUST 2011 BANGKOK, THAILAND

Welfare Stocktaking (1)

Welfare Stocktaking (2)

Welfare Stocktaking (3)

Key ‘Welfare Gaps’ (1) �Care for young children Income support for children of uninsured parents Development care �Access to education for very poor students �Highly unequality of education �Informal workers welfare Income support during sickness/emergencies/maternity leave Involuntary early retirement (esp. middle-age farmers) Work-related injury compensation Skill training that suit market demand

Key ‘Welfare Gaps’ (2) �Old age Insufficient income support among poor elderly Additional support for fragile elderly �Access to education for very poor students �Highly unequality of education �Informal workers welfare Income support during sickness/emergencies/maternity leave Involuntary early retirement (esp. middle-age farmers) Work-related injury compensation

Designing ‘Desirable Welfare Scheme’ 1. Benefits which are provided for Thai people from birth till death. 2. Benefits which response to the needs of the public. 3. Universal coverage is essential for key benefits, regardless of some leakages to people who are not poor. 4. Benefits must not be duplicated. 5. There must be equality in benefits provision (maybe adjust by the difference in contributions made by the people or business).

Designing ‘Desirable Welfare Scheme’ (2) 6. There must be additional benefits for the poor and the disadvantaged. 7. Benefits should seek to reduce inequality in Thai society in the long term. 8. Benefits must not impose too much budgetary burden on the state. If necessary, reform of the tax structure may be undertaken. 9. Benefits must be under welfare society principle, in that the responsibility is not solely of the state, but shared by other parties in society such as private sector, community, civil society, at others. 10. Coverage expansion may be made for the stateless and immigrants in some cases.

Some Practical Issues � Managing the expansion of social insurance to informal workers � Harmonizing health insurance coverage Benefits Financing � Benefits duplications Old age income support � Proper division of responsibility of central/local governments � Role of private/non-government sectors Social Enterprise CSR

Some Advocacy Issues �Benefit-First Avoid addressing financial burden openly Ensuring affordability with related operational units �Community-based management For some benefits, communities are better at management Need to strengthen/advocate other ‘weak’ communities