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

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.
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