Adverse Economic Impacts on the Occupationally Insecure Workforce in Thailand Amid the Pandemic

The author suggests a range of public policies that the Thai government should employ so as to help Thai nationals and smaller-size businesses weather the storm of the pandemic. As the Thai economy is significantly tied to its tourism development, it is not pragmatic for Thai authorities and nationals to aim at full economic recovery in the short- and mid-term. In the short-term, Thai authorities should help local businesses and nationals to satisfy household subsistence. Then, the Thai government should create more job opportunities for the Thai workforce and financially support local businesses in the short- and mid-term. Concurrently, the Thai government should expand their delivery of social protection schemes to Thai nationals, helping local populations obtain basic social welfare services that are conducive to their survival. In the longer-term, the Thai government should welcome international tourisms in phases, and co-build transport infrastructures with neighbouring countries in order to prepare a full re-opening of national borders in due course.

Towards Sustainable Retirement Planning of Wageworkers in Thailand: A Qualitative Approach in Behavioral Segmentation and Financial Pain Point Identification

Thailand recently reached “aged” society status, signifying that over twenty percent of the population is over sixty. Considering that Thailand has a low literacy rate, a fractured pension system, and no regulations that could provide sufficient income to cover basic needs after retirement, there will be economic repercussions if the situation is not handled soon. The government and financial institutions have been encouraging Thai citizens to prepare retirement plans but lack understanding of the root causes of being unprepared for retirement. The objectives of this qualitative research were to explore the behavior, knowledge, and preparedness towards retirement in governmental and private wageworkers. Moreover, the study aims to identify the pain points of being unprepared for retirement and deliver the optimal solutions and sustainable retirement plans suitable for each segment. This article employed a sample of 46 wageworkers in Khon Kaen, Thailand with ages ranging from 20 to 59 years old. Qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews and qualitative content analysis were conducted with the respondents asking about their income, expenses, pains, and problems towards saving for retirement, their desired outcome after they retire, and how they would achieve it. The framework used for the in-depth qualitative interview was by utilizing the customer, problem, and solution zoom tool. The research contributions were to facilitate Thai citizens being ready for retirement stages and overcome post-retirement risks sustainably. The results revealed that the sample could be divided into four segments by their characteristics. Two low-income segments share the same traits and behaviors that can prove that financial literacy plays an essential role in retirement readiness. Lower-income wage workers do not have their money put in place to prepare for retirement. Additionally, this article discussed the study’s implications for wageworkers, employers, and the Thai government. This article recommended that Thai citizens should accumulate wealth in various ways, including investment in financial assets and earning additional income from a second job. Employers should provide suitable retirement contribution schemes. The government should launch a policy enabling above-60-year-old seniors to continue working.

Towards Deeper Judicialisation: Explaining Thailand’s Increasing Engagement with International Adjudication

This paper calls attention to a little-noticed phenomenon about the Thai government’s increasing involvement in international adjudication over the last two decades. For the first time, it has participated in the advisory proceedings before the ITLOS, and made oral statements in the advisory proceedings before the ICJ. It has faced the first treaty-based arbitration by a German investor. There has also been an attempt to initiate the proceedings at the International Criminal Court against Thai officials. All of these parallel the government’s extensive participation in the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO. What accounts for such developments? The paper argues that Thailand’s constantly increasing engagement with international adjudication should be understood as part of the judicialisation of international relations. Specifically, it is shaped by four main conditions. First, the Thai government has cautiously yet constantly expanded its acceptance of jurisdiction of courts and tribunals. Second, the number of potential claimants has exponentially increased. Third, the composition of the international litigator communities has changed, resulting in the significant increase in the number of lawyers willing to pursue new cases. Fourth, Thai government officials are learning to strategically make themselves more visible in the litigator communities.

The Reorientation of Thailand’s National R&D Programmes - Limits and Challenges

<p>Since 2016 Thailand has recognised a significant transition in research and innovation policy, with government increasingly acknowledging the importance of national R&amp;D programmes and favourable institutional conditions as determinants to overcome middle income trap. Drawing a lesson-learned from successful experiences of South Korea and Japan, the Thai government decided to experiment the national large-scaled mission-oriented R&amp;D programme, known as ‘Spearhead R&amp;D Programme’. This novel innovation financing scheme was designed to accelerate the commercialisation and economic impact of R&amp;D outputs. From the outset, it was clear that the outcome and impact of Spearhead R&amp;D Programme was yet to be realized. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reorientation of Thailand’s research and innovation landscape with the focus on the efficiency of operation in relation to the objective of the Spearhead R&amp;D Programme. It is found that the Spearhead R&amp;D Programme is equipped with four novel conceptual and operational features including strategic national STI agenda, R&amp;D commercialization, multi-year budget allocation and proactive research management. Yet, there were also potential limits and challenges that need to be addressed to move the Programme towards greater sectoral contribution with open innovation and flexibility in policy learning.</p><p> </p><p>Keywords: Research &amp; Innovation Reform, Mission-oriented R&amp;D Programme, Policy Experiment, Catch-up, R&amp;D Commercialisation, Thailand</p>

Predicted Impact of the Lockdown Measure in Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Greater Bangkok, Thailand, 2021

In mid-2021, Thailand faced a fourth wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) predominantly fueled by the Delta and Alpha variants. The number of cases and deaths rose exponentially, alongside a sharp increase in hospitalizations and intubated patients. The Thai Government then implemented a lockdown to mitigate the outbreak magnitude and prevent cases from overwhelming the healthcare system. This study aimed to model the severity of the outbreak over the following months by different levels of lockdown effectiveness. Secondary analysis was performed on data primarily obtained from the Ministry of Health; the data were analyzed using both the deterministic compartmental model and the system dynamics model. The model was calibrated against the number of daily cases in Greater Bangkok during June–July 2021. We then assessed the outcomes (daily cases, daily deaths, and intubated patients) according to hypothetical lockdowns of varying effectiveness and duration. The findings revealed that lockdown measures could reduce and delay the peak of COVID-19 cases and deaths. A two-month lockdown with 60% effectiveness in the reduction in reproduction number caused the lowest number of cases, deaths, and intubated patients, with a peak about one-fifth of the size of a no-lockdown peak. The two-month lockdown policy also delayed the peak until after December, while in the context of a one-month lockdown, cases peaked during the end of September to early December (depending on the varying degrees of lockdown effectiveness in the reduction in reproduction number). In other words, the implementation of a lockdown policy did not mean the end of the outbreak, but it helped delay the peak. In this sense, implementing a lockdown helped to buy time for the healthcare system to recover and better prepare for any future outbreaks. We recommend further studies that explore the impact of lockdown measures at a sub-provincial level, and examine the impact of lockdowns on parameters not directly related to the spread of disease, such as quality of life and economic implications for individuals and society.

Prospects for South-east Asia in 2022

Significance Meanwhile, the Myanmar junta and the military-aligned Thai government are under pressure from opponents, and the Philippines is gearing up for elections. With COVID-19 vaccination rates varying greatly, some countries in the region are better placed than others to revive their pandemic-hit economies.

The Estimation of the Willingness to Pay for Air-Quality Improvement in Thailand

Thailand has experienced severe air-quality problems for the past 10 years. Complicating this situation, the Thai government allocates an insufficient budget for the management of air pollution. Using the contingent valuation method, this paper estimates the willingness to pay for air-quality improvement in Thailand to reveal the benefits that people will gain if air-quality improves. The results show that the total benefits from air-quality improvement would be 18.8 billion baht in 2020. The Thai government can use these findings as a guideline to redistribute its budget to address air pollution more effectively.

Protection of elephants and sustainable use of ivory in Thailand

The Asian elephant Elephas maximus is of cultural significance for the Thai people. The development of legal protection for elephants in Thailand dates back to the 17th century, reflecting concerns about both human livelihoods and elephant conservation. The legal status of privately owned, captive elephants differs from that of wild individuals, with consequences for the lawful use of ivory from captive animals. Prior to 2015, the lack of comprehensive measures to control the Thai ivory market enabled the laundering of illegally sourced ivory in the country. The Thai government introduced legal reforms in 2015, imposing strict controls over the possession and domestic trade of ivory from captive Asian elephants, and aligning the protection of African elephants and their ivory with CITES regulations. Nonetheless, the sustainable use of Thai ivory remains disputed, and international pressure to close the commercial trade in domestic ivory persists. Here we review this complex situation, aiming to inform future reforms. Consolidation of laws related to elephants and ivory would facilitate law enforcement and compliance. Use of an electronic database would improve the monitoring of ivory movements and aid the implementation and enforcement of laws.

A political archaeology of Theravada Buddhism: Unearthing the emotions of changing funerary practices in northern Thailand

As the central Thai government expanded into the northern region during the early decades of the twentieth century, thousands of northern monks created a movement spearheaded by the famous monk, Khruba Srivichai (1878–1939). Even after Srivichai's multiple arrests and the disrobing of some 1,000 of his disciples in 1936, tensions continued. Oral histories reveal underlying differences in religious interpretations; one was outrage at the construction of funerary chedis on temple grounds. To understand why northerners found this practice sacrilegious, this essay undertakes an ideological archaeology into the ‘space of dissension’ of differing central and northern Thai funerary practices.

ISLAMIC EDUCATION LEADERSHIP IN CONFLICT STATE: CASE STUDY IN SOUTHERN THAILAND

This study aims to explore the practice of Islamic education leadership in the conflict state, in Pattani Southern Thailand, a region where the conflict is prolonged until the decades are between the Malay Muslim minority with the Thai government that is Buddhist. Using a qualitative approach with the method of case study, this study focused on Madrasah Pattani, with the head of madrasa, one teacher, and three alumni as informants. Interviews were conducted with FGD to find out the extent of leadership in Pattani Madrasas during the conflict. The results were found that in hard conditions, the madrasa could develop a strong madrasa vision by adopting a modern curriculum and integrate it with the Islamic curriculum of Islam. Although this method has been opposed to the entry of Buddhist teachers, the head of madrasah neutralise by making several activities to create social cohesion and build cooperation with universities abroad. Leadership mode is rare and difficult to implement in areas that are being hit by an ethno-political conflict on behalf of religion.