Population Ageing and the Well-Being of Older Persons in Thailand ...

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Section 3: Demographic, Social and Economic Profile insufficient and another fifth gave a qualified answer indicating that only sometimes was their income sufficient. Almost all of the remainder indicated their income was sufficient but with only two per cent indicating their income was more than sufficient. Most older persons said that they were either satisfied with their financial situation but with only a few indicating they were very satisfied. The same time, 28 per cent expressed dissatisfaction. Income sufficiency and financial satisfaction. The 2007 Survey of Older Persons in Thailand asked respondents to judge the sufficiency of their income and their satisfaction with their financial situation. Results are shown in Table 3.9. Overall just over a fifth of older persons indicated that their income was There is little difference between persons in their sixties and those age 70 and above in terms of responses concerning income sufficiency and financial satisfaction. Likewise, gender differences are almost nonexistent. However a reasonably clear contrast is evident between urban and rural older persons. The latter are noticeably more likely to indicate that their income is either insufficient or only sometimes sufficient and more likely to indicate dissatisfaction with their financial situation. Both the gender and rural-urban comparisons accord reasonably well with the more objective measures of material well-being reviewed above. 28
Section 3: Demographic, Social and Economic Profile Figure 3.9 examines whether gender and marital status is associated with income insufficiency and financial dissatisfaction. Neither gender nor marital status show an association with either of these measures. Analyses of national surveys conducted in 1994 and 1995 produced quite similar findings with respect to perceived economic well-being (Sobieszczyk, Knodel & Chayovan 2003). Thus while being in an intact marriage is likely to provide important social support for an elderly person and may be critical for meeting caregiving needs, it appears to confer little advantage with respect to the self perceived material well being of elderly Thais. to which those most in need receive government allowances compared to those least in need. Welfare allowance and financial need. As discussed in Section 6 and as noted above, the government programme to provide modest allowances to indigent elderly persons in Thailand expanded considerably since its founding over a decade ago. Some local administrations have liberalized qualifications and use supplementary local funds to provide broader or even universal coverage to resident elderly. Nevertheless it is important not to lose sight of the original purpose of the programme to target those most in need of financial assistance. Figure 3.10, examines the extent Several different indicators of the socio-economic status are used. Rather than showing the full range of each of the indicators, only categories representing the most and least favorable socio-economic situations are presented. Persons in the most favorable categories are considered to be least in need and those in the least favorable most in need. The results clearly show that those most in need are far more likely to receive government allowances than those least in need. At the same time, it is also true that modest shares of those who would appear to be least in need also receive such allowances. This may in part be a function of expanded programmes that target all or most elderly in some localities. Also for none of the categories that would appear to indicate greatest need, do a majority receive an allowance. Thus while the results are encouraging in showing that the programme disproportionately helps elderly most in need, there are likely still large numbers who sorely need financial assistance but do not receive it. 29
Page 3 and 4: Papers in Population Ageing No. 5 P
Page 5 and 6: Foreword This report is the fifth i
Page 7 and 8: Contents Acknowledgements .........
Page 9 and 10: Executive Summary Introduction Popu
Page 11 and 12: part a result of the far higher lev
Page 13 and 14: Section 1: Introduction 1.1 Populat
Page 15 and 16: Section 1: Introduction we make ext
Page 17 and 18: Section 2: The Demography of Ageing
Page 27 and 28: Section 3: Demographic, Social and
Page 39: Section 3: Demographic, Social and
Page 45 and 46: Section 4: Health Status Moreover,
Page 47 and 48: Section 4: Health Status Problems w
Page 49: Section 4: Health Status similar to
Page 52 and 53: Section 5: Family support and inter
Page 70 and 71: Section 6: Policy and Programme Res
Page 78 and 79: Section 7: Key findings and recomme
Page 80 and 81: Section 7: Key findings and recomme
Page 82 and 83: Endnotes 1 On gender and ageing see
Page 84 and 85: Bibliography Bryant, J. 2005. Proje
Page 86 and 87: Knodel, John, Napaporn Chayovan, Si
Page 88: Verbrugge, Lois. 1989. The Twain Me

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