Conflict, Legitimacy and Government Reform: Equitable Allocation of ...

Reforming Local Government for the Achievement of Fairness in Thai Society
education) must work to earn money at a very young age. They
work hard but receive a low wage.
b) Health care services - Even though there are over 9,000 public
health centers spreading across the country but service quality is
not uniform. Moreover, one must accept that in many cases,
budget allocation to operating units of Thai authorities, is done
in such as way due to familiarity. So the method may not
conform to the principle of equity. 1
c) Most people in this country lack welfare. Only one-third of the
country, that is, government employees and workers in the social
security system receive their rights and welfare and other benefits,
while two-thirds of Thai people, that is, farmers, laborers and
small business owners lack many welfares. Regarding these
problems, LAOs are in the position to help upgrade service
quality and “close the gap.”
Part 3 explores the progress of health-oriented public policy, that is,
sub-district health fund which is a new tool used for behavioral
modification that contributes to people’s health. This scheme accords
with the principles of decentralization and public participation. This is
done by reviewing results of an evaluative study conducted by the
Economics Academic Service Center and records of the initiatives in each
locality. It is worth noting that sub-district health funds began to operate
in 2006. Initially there were 888 funds. After its operation has run for
only a few years, the number of the funds has expanded to more than
3,000 locations. This is a phenomenon that reflects the dynamics of
LAOs with respect to health care services.
Part 4 presents an analysis of future policies by creating a
hypothetical scenario where property tax will be levied (to reduce income
inequality) and the revenue will be used to support poor people and
1 For example, subsidy per capita of municipality and sub-district administrative
organization (SAO) of Thailand adheres to accustomed or customary practices in the
past without any curiosity whether such method conforms to the principle of equity on
horizontal or vertical axis or not.
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