Thai Experience Research Articles

Impacts of excise tax raise on illegal and total alcohol consumption: A Thai experience

Aim: In 2007, the Thai government raised the excise taxes of brandy, blended spirits and white spirits to reduce alcohol consumption. The study objectives were to explore the consumption of illegal white spirits, and estimate the price response on total alcohol consumption at the national level, after 2007 taxation policy.Methods: Consumption behaviour of illegal white spirits was surveyed 6 months after the taxation policy in two rural communities, with and without traditional production of white spirits. The quantity of total alcohol consumption was estimated for a year after taxation using baseline consumption based on the third National Health Examination Survey, market prices surveyed by the Bureau of Trade and Economic Indices and price elasticities for the demand.Findings: After raising the alcohol taxes, the spirits prices increased within 2 months. From the community survey, illegal white spirits consumption was prevalent only in the community with a production. At the national level, estimated increase in this consumption was very small. Estimated total alcohol consumption slightly decreased when taking into account substitution effects among beverages.Conclusion: The impact on illegal white spirits consumption is not a significant issue. Raising the taxes of the distilled spirits together with their taxed substitutes should be considered for future policy option.

Telecom Regulatory and Policy Environment in Thailand: Results and Analysis of the 2008 TRE Survey

The average result of the TRE survey in Thailand (2.8 out of 5) reveals mixed performance of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Thai telecom regulatory body. Higher TRE scores for market entry (3.1), tariff regulation (2.8) and quality of services (2.9) are interrelated. That is, the NTC has clearly adopted a liberal licensing regime that has led to increased competition in many markets, in particular, the broadband and the international internet gateway markets. New entrants into the broadband market are guaranteed access to the local loop or can request for a WiMAX license. Abolition of the monopoly over the international internet gateway (IIG) was a major boon to the industry. At the same time, its rather light-handed approach to tariffs regulation through the establishment of price ceilings that are mostly non-binding on operators, allow market mechanism to function without distortion. In general, greater competition in mobile, broadband, and IDD has resulted in lower costs and higher service quality that helped boost TRE scores in these categories. On the other hand, in areas where regulatory rules are required as market forces cannot deliver the desired outcome, such as interconnection, universal service and anti-competitive practices, TRE scores are slightly lower. They are 2.5, 2.6 and 2.7 respectively. This reveals NTC’s limited capability in dealing with more complicated regulatory rules that require profound understanding of the issue at hand and clear and transparent rules to ensure fairness and predictability of the regulatory regime. At the same time, the lack of a comprehensive database on key regulatory variables such as cost, capital expenditure, price levels and quality of service, etc. does not bode well for regulations that require these data. Several comments expressed through the questionnaires addressed concerns about unclear and broad rules or regulations or the lack of detailed implementation regulations ranging from licensing, tariffs regulation to universal service obligation. It should be noted, however, that certain TRE scores reflect not only the performance of the NTC, but also other external factors that affect the regulatory environment. For example, the low interconnection score can be attributed to the legal battle surrounding the arbitrary access regime established during the telecom concession era that are inconsistent with NTC’s current interconnection rules. As the Constitution upholds these concessions, it is beyond NTC’s control to solve the problem. Similarly, the much delay in the establishment of a joint frequency allocation committee between the National Telecommunications Commission and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) due to political wrangling contributed to low access scores as the NTC was not able to proceed with the auctioning of the 3G licenses without proper legal clearance. To sum up, although the NTC has contributed significantly to a more competitive telecom market with its relatively liberal licensing policy, unclear regulatory rules pose a major problem for telecom operators and absence of proper quality regulation has left consumers at the mercy of service providers. Nevertheless, the Thai experience shows that competition can go a long way in protecting consumers in the absence of proper regulatory oversight.

EXPOSING POLICE CORRUPTION AND MALFEASANCE: CHINA'S VIRGIN PROSTITUTE CASES

Previous articleNext article No AccessEXPOSING POLICE CORRUPTION AND MALFEASANCE: CHINA'S VIRGIN PROSTITUTE CASESElaine JeffreysElaine Jeffreys Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The China Journal Volume 63January 2010 Published on behalf of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/tcj.63.20749197 Views: 69Total views on this site Citations: 9Citations are reported from Crossref © The China JournalPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Peng Wang Politics of Crime Control: How Campaign-Style Law Enforcement Sustains Authoritarian Rule in China, The British Journal of Criminology 16 (Oct 2019).https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azz065David Jancsics Corruption as Resource Transfer: An Interdisciplinary Synthesis, Public Administration Review 79, no.44 (Jan 2019): 523–537.https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13024Eileen Yuk-Ha Tsang , Deviant Behavior 40, no.44 ( 2019): 461.https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2018.1431040Eileen Yuk-ha Tsang Finding Hope as a “Tempting Girl” in China: Sex Work, Indentured Mobility, and Cosmopolitan Individuals, Deviant Behavior 39, no.77 (Jun 2017): 896–909.https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2017.1335543Petula Sik Ying Ho, Stevi Jackson, Siyang Cao, Chi Kwok Sex With Chinese Characteristics: Sexuality Research in/on 21st-Century China, The Journal of Sex Research 55, no.4-54-5 (Mar 2018): 486–521.https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2018.1437593Bonny Ling Prostitution and Female Trafficking in China, China Perspectives 2018, no.1-21-2 (Jun 2018): 65–74.https://doi.org/10.4000/chinaperspectives.7742Lin Liu, Ivan Y. Sun, Jianhong Liu Police Officers’ Attitudes Toward Citizens in China, International Criminal Justice Review 28, no.11 (Jul 2017): 45–61.https://doi.org/10.1177/1057567717717317Eileen Yuk-ha Tsang Neither ?Bad? nor ?Dirty?: High-end Sex Work and Intimate Relationships in Urban China, The China Quarterly 230 (May 2017): 444–463.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741017000649Elaine Jeffreys, Gang Su China's 100 Per Cent Condom Use Program: Customising the Thai Experience, Asian Studies Review 35, no.33 (Sep 2011): 315–333.https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2011.602044

Thai women's experience of intimate partner violence during the perinatal period: A case study analysis

This exploratory descriptive study is part of a larger program that investigated the prevalence and frequency of different forms of intimate partner violence during pregnancy and the immediate post-partum period among Thai women and the associated maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Two case studies are used to illustrate the different experiences of victims, as well as the barriers to seeking help and the strategies used to manage their circumstances. The study highlights the neglect of women's rights by police and community leaders, the attribution of blame to women, and their perceived sense of powerlessness and a lack of knowledge about the available resources.

Poverty Reduction through Long-term Growth: The Thai Experience

Thailand's impressive long-term rate of economic growth has resulted mainly from accumulation of physical capital. Total factor productivity (TFP) growth at the economy-wide level explains about one-third of the aggregate growth of output. However, this TFP growth was due entirely to resource reallocation from low-productivity sectors, especially agriculture, to higher-productivity industry and services sectors. TFP growth at the sectoral level has been important only in agriculture. Poverty has declined remarkably over time despite a steady increase in income inequality. The rate of decline in poverty incidence has been directly related to the rate of economic growth.

Summary of General Discussion on “Poverty Reduction through Long-term Growth: The Thai Experience”

Summary of General Discussion on “Poverty Reduction through Long-term Growth: The Thai Experience”

Predictors of anxiety symptoms in the gynecological outpatient setting: The Thai experience

Objective. To examine the prevalence and predictors of anxiety in women attending a gynecological outpatient service. Method. A total of 271 women who came to a gynecological outpatient clinic at a large university hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, were asked to complete the state sub-scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Index (STAI) and a questionnaire to obtain demographic, medical and gynecological information as well as a questionnaire to assess social support. A cutoff score of ≥ 46 on the STAI was considered to indicate the presence of moderate–severe anxiety. Result. One hundred (36.9%) subjects met criteria for anxiety. Anxious women were more likely to be young and to have had an abortion at an earlier age. They were more likely to reside in rural Thailand, report perception of low social support, present with abnormal vaginal discharge and to have a greater number of gynecological symptoms than non-anxious women. Additionally, anxious women were less likely to have knowledge about their diagnosis compared to non-anxious women. Conclusion. Clinically meaningful levels of anxiety are common among women attending an outpatient gynecological clinic. Awareness of risk factors for anxiety in these women will aid medical personnel in identifying those in need of additional support and/or mental health services.

Development of Accident Prediction Models, their Possibilities and Efficacy for the Developing Countries; a Thai Experience

Development of Accident Prediction Models, their Possibilities and Efficacy for the Developing Countries; a Thai Experience

I-23 Opportunistic infections in AIDS: Thai experience

I-23 Opportunistic infections in AIDS: Thai experience

Financial Liberalisation in Emerging Markets: How Does Bank Lending Change?

Financial liberalisation has often failed in the past due to underestimated problems of structural change. We analyse such changes in lending behaviour of Thai commercial banks during a liberalisation phase by way of unique micro data. Liberalisation has expected positive effects, such as lowering the interest rate spread and collateral requirements. Liberalisation causes structural change, such as a decline in collateralbased and relationship banking. However, the liberalisation evidence is consistent with more risk taking, such as lending to more risky projects and less protection against default. The Thai experience suggests obvious policy lessons.

Successes and failures to embed socioeconomic dimensions in integrated natural resource management modeling: Lessons from Thailand

This paper discusses the necessity, successes, and failures of attempts to embed socioeconomic aspects into integrated natural resource modeling. It examines experiences in Thailand over the past 20–30 years to illustrate advances and difficulties experienced in these attempts. The paper explores different approaches which are used to incorporate socioeconomic dynamic processes and impacts into integrated assessments. Lessons learnt from Thai experiences starting from systems approaches and modeling agricultural and watershed management are reviewed. It is found that greater success has been experienced with the inclusion of agricultural and natural resource economists, who have experience dealing with quantitative methods and “hard” systems dynamics. The need for the “soft” side of assessment is recognized but is not easily realized. Failures to include other social science disciplines in integrated assessment have been caused by factors such as administrative boundaries, inadequate linkages between social theories and differences in agendas. Some modeling approaches, such as agent-based systems or multi-agent systems are well tuned to socioeconomic variables but their use by policy makers is still in experiment. Balancing “hard” and “soft” systems approaches will improve the relevance and validity of the models to solve agricultural and natural resource problems but this is still an art which requires patience and perseverance on the part of both the biophysical and social scientists involved.

Community projects and democratic planning in Thailand: Lessons for Ghana

The paper is based on field visits to community projects in Thailand as part of the learning processes of community initiatives and democratisation of planning practices at the community level. The principal objective of these studies is to analyse the mechanisms that communities use to initiate, implement, and manage community projects on a sustainable basis to benefit their lives. The focus of the paper is on Urban Community Environmental Activities (UCEA) projects in Thailand, examining the genesis of the programme, the processes involved and more importantly the structure of community participation in the implementation and management of the programmes. The role of central government in providing the legal, institutional and financial incentives to facilitate the process is also analysed. The factors that contributed to the relative success of these projects: an independent board to ensure flexibility, participation of the poor, and strong social and community networks are outlined. Furthermore, the paper draws lessons from the Thai experiences that are relevant for the development of urban communities in Ghana.Journal of Science and Technology(Ghana) Vol. 27 (1) 2007: pp. 109-118

MNEs and the Global Integration of Thailand's Processed Food Exports: A Firm-Level Study

This paper presents the findings of a firm-level case study examining the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in processed food exports from Thailand. The discussion covers both FDI (foreign direct investment) and non-FDI channels of MNE involvement in the export of four major items, namely, canned pineapple, canned tuna, processed chicken, and processed shrimp. The findings suggest that MNEs play a vital role in the expansion of processed food exports from Thailand. MNE involvement begins with the establishment of joint ventures with Thai firms (FDI channel). Then, other local firms engage in export-oriented production and enhance their competitiveness through technology spillover. As the industry gains maturity, links with MNE buyers begin to play a far more important role than the FDI channel. The highly liberal trade and investment policy regime of Thailand, as well as the absorptive capability of local firms and the presence of the Thai MNE, CP group, are important elements of the enabling environment that allows these Thai exporting firms to gain maximum benefits from MNE involvement. The Thai experience demonstrates that the conventional approach of focusing on FDI as the sole link between MNEs and domestic manufacturing tends to overlook the significant role of MNEs in the export performance of the host countries' diffused-technology industries such as food processing.

Agricultural Commercialisation, Diversification, and Conservation of Renewable Resources in Northern Thailand Highlands

The process of commercialisation-diversification in the highlands of upper northern Thailand and the accompanying dismissal of self-subsistence are documented based on the findings from seven case studies carried out in different agricultural and social situations during the past decade. The characteristics of the key driving forces powering this agrarian transition such as rapid economic growth, decrease in the share of labour employed in the agriculture, urbanization and changes in food consumption patterns, and improved communication infrastructures, are presented in the Thai context. The environmental impact of these profound agrarian transformations on the degradation of key renewable resources, particularly soil erosion, is assessed. Their socio-economic consequences on an extensive differentiation among farming households and equity issues are also discussed. Finally the authors draw several lessons from this Thai experience that illustrate the very strong adaptive capacity of small highland farmers. They could be useful in similar agro-ecological zones of neighbouring countries that are presently experiencing the same kind of agricultural transition in the Montane Mainland Southeast Asia ecoregion. Particularly, the article underlines the need for more holistic and integrated approaches to agricultural development and the management of renewable resources in highland agro-ecosystems to alleviate poverty while conserving the resource base.

Tsunami and mental health in Thailand

Over 5000 people lost their lives when the Asian tsunami hit the Andaman coast of southern Thailand. The delivery of services was complicated because a large number of tourists were in the area. The setting up of the Mental Health Centre for the Thai Tsunami disaster within the Department of Mental Health produced prompt mental health response. Regular contact using a variety of means provided supervision and mentoring. The Thai response built on the existing volunteer network. A Mobile Mental Health Team provided on the spot needs assessment and help. Thai experience provides a culturally acceptable way of delivering mental health services and normalization was the most appropriate response.

Administrative Reform and Tidal Waves from Regime Shifts: Tsunamis in Thailand’s Political and Administrative History

The analogy of tidal waves is taken from the 26 December 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of Thailand and other Asian countries. Regime shifts or changes in systems and styles of government produce “tidal waves” that affect the direction and progress of administrative reform. Examples of major regime shifts, causing tidal waves or tsunami are drawn from Thai experience from 1932 to the present. The Thaksin Administration (2001-present) provides an especially notable example of a major regime shift from democratic governance to democratic authoritarianism. The Thaksin tsunami has resulted m a definite centralisation and consolidation of political power in the hands of the Prime Minister.

Experience of Asian Asset Management Companies: Do They Increase Moral Hazard? - Evidence from Thailand

This paper examines the performances of Asian asset management companies (AMCs). The analysis reveals that AMCs vary in their design and performance. Asset management companies can trigger moral hazard-inspired bank lending. Empirical examination of the Thai experience reveals that the moral hazard-inspired bank lending resulted in creating more new NPLs in the case of public asset management companies. Alternatively, the centralized Thai Asset Management Company (TAMC) decreases the new NPL ratio, suggesting that TAMC provokes no adverse moral hazard effect on financial institutions. The paper also finds that the same institutional consideration significantly decreases new NPL in foreign banks and finance companies.

The roles of intermediaries in clusters: The Thai experiences in high‐tech and community‐based clusters

Summary Industrial clusters are geographical concentrations of interconnected companies, specialised suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions (for example, universities, standard agencies, and trade associations) that combine to create new products and/or services in specific lines of business. At present, the concept of industrial cluster becomes very popular worldwide, policy makers at national, regional and local levels and business people in both forerunner and latecomer countries are keen to implement the cluster conceptas an economic development model. Though understanding of clusters and related promoting policies varies from one place to another, the underlying benefits of clusters from collective learning and knowledge spillovers between participating actors strongly attract the attention of these people. In Thailand, a latecomer country in terms of technological catching up, the cluster concept has been used as a means to rectify weakness and fragmentation of its innovation systems. The present Thai government aspires to apply the concept to promote both high‐tech manufacturing clusters, services clusters and community‐based clusters at the grass‐root level. This paper analyses three very different clusters in terms of technological sophistication and business objectives, i.e., hard disk drive, software and chili paste. It portrays their significant actors, the extent of interaction among them and the evolution of the clusters. Though they are very dissimilar, common characteristics attributed to qualified success are found. Main driving forces of the three clusters are cluster intermediaries. Forms of these organizations are different from a government research and technology organization (RTO), an industrial association, to a self‐organised community‐based organisation. However, they perform similar functions of stimulating information and knowledge sharing, and building trust among participating firms/individuals in the clusters. Literature in the cluster studies argues that government policies need to be cluster specific. In this case, the best way to design and implement cluster‐specific policies is through working closely with intermediaries and strengthening their institutional capabilities especially in linking member firms/individuals to other actors in clusters such as universities, government R&D institutes, and financial institutions.

Operations of a Pension Fund after the Asian Crisis: The Thai Experience*

During and after the Asian crisis, institutional investors and pension funds in Asian financial markets have been confronted with a number of difficulties effecting their performance and the way they carry out their role within the national pension system. We analyze these problems by comparing the actual investment policy of an institutional investor with an optimal investment strategy derived from the insights of modern portfolio theory. We also analyze whether the organizational set‐up of a pension fund allows it to adequately perform its role within the pension system. As an example, we examine the operations of the Thai Government Pension Fund (GPF). We find that allowing international investments and reducing restrictions on equity investments while lowering the implicit requirements for investments in government debt would allow the GPF to further diversify its investment risk and to increase its risk‐adjusted return. We also show that some changes in the governance structure of the GPF would lower the occurrence of conflicts of interest for the management and increase the efficiency of the GPF operations.

Knowledge-based changes to health systems: the Thai experience in policy development.

Over the past two decades the government in Thailand has adopted an incremental approach to extending health-care coverage to the population. It first offered coverage to government employees and their dependents, and then introduced a scheme under which low-income people were exempt from charges for health care. This scheme was later extended to include elderly people, children younger than 12 years of age and disabled people. A voluntary public insurance scheme was implemented to cover those who could afford to pay for their own care. Private sector employees were covered by the Social Health Insurance scheme, which was implemented in 1991. Despite these efforts, 30% of the population remained uninsured in 2001. In October of that year, the new government decided to embark on a programme to provide universal health-care coverage. This paper describes how research into health systems and health policy contributed to the move towards universal coverage. Data on health systems financing and functioning had been gathered before and after the founding of the Health Systems Research Institute in early 1990. In 1991, a contract capitation model had been used to launch the Social Health Insurance scheme. The advantages of using a capitation model are that it contains costs and provides an acceptable quality of service as opposed to the cost escalation and inefficiency that occur under fee-for-service reimbursement models, such as the one used to provide medical benefits to civil servants. An analysis of the implementation of universal coverage found that politics moved universal coverage onto the policy agenda during the general election campaign in January 2001. The capacity for research on health systems and policy to generate evidence guided the development of the policy and the design of the system at a later stage. Because the reformists who sought to bring about universal coverage (who were mostly civil servants in the Ministry of Public Health and members of nongovernmental organizations) were able to bridge the gap between researchers and politicians, an evidence-based political decision was made. Additionally, the media played a part in shaping the societal consensus on universal coverage.