Publication: Geographic Disparities in Well-Being and Fiscal Expenditures in Thailand : 2000 vs. 2009
Loading...
Files in English
316 downloads
Date
2013-06-09
ISSN
1354-7860
Published
2013-06-09
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This article investigates (1) the extent to which the differences in the standard of living between regions in Thailand are due to differences in the returns to characteristics or differences in the characteristics themselves; and (2) whether the current allocation of fiscal expenditures by the central authorities is related to the main determinants of spatial disparities in welfare among the provinces. The analysis reveals that the lower level of welfare in the rural areas within any given region is primarily because of differences in characteristics of the population in rural vs. urban areas. Differences in returns generally account for the most part of the welfare differences between urban areas of different regions and Bangkok or rural areas of other regions compared with the rural northeast. The analysis of fiscal expenditures and their relation to welfare disparities suggests that there are many opportunities to improve the role of fiscal expenditure allocation by the central government as an instrument of addressing the needs of the provinces in terms of low returns.
Link to Data Set
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Citations
- Cited 2 times in Scopus (view citations)
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication The Poverty Impacts of Climate Change(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-03)Over the last century, the world has seen a sustained decline in the proportion of people living in poverty. However, there is an increasing concern that climate change could slow or possibly even reverse poverty reduction progress. Given the complexities involved in analyzing climate change impacts on poverty, different approaches can be helpful; this note surveys the results of recent research on climate change impacts on poverty.Publication Latin America - Determinants of Regional Welfare Disparities within Latin American Countries : Synthesis(World Bank, 2009-05-01)This study analyzes the complicated and dynamic nature of welfare differences across space. The objectives are two-fold. First, the study seeks to provide a methodological framework useful for investigating the determinants of the observed differences in the standards of living between two regions at a given point in time. Second, it aims to provide empirical evidence on regional welfare differences to inform the policy debate surrounding regional inequalities within countries. Chapter two sets the stage by presenting the poverty profiles within and between regions in each of the eight countries in study. Chapter three reviews the methodology, based on the Oaxaca-Blinder (1973) decomposition method used to asses the relative size of the concentration and geography effect in welfare differences across regions/areas. Chapter four reports the findings from various comparisons conducted between urban and rural areas within regions, and urban vs. urban (or rural vs. rural) areas between regions. Chapter five focuses on the role of internal migration within Latin America (LAC) countries. Chapter six summarizes the available empirical evidence regarding the poverty and welfare impacts of the two most distinct types interventions associated with the concentration and the geography views: conditional cash transfers; and territorial development strategies. Chapter seven summarizes findings and discusses some of their main policy implications.Publication Sources of Welfare Disparities Across and Within Regions of Brazil : Evidence from the 2002-03 Household Budget Survey(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2008-12)Brazil's inequalities in welfare and poverty across and within regions can be accounted for by differences in household attributes and returns to those attributes. This paper uses Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions at the mean as well as at different quantiles of welfare distributions on regionally representative household survey data (2002-03 Household Budget Survey). The analysis finds that household attributes account for most of the welfare differences between urban and rural areas within regions. However, comparing the lagging Northeast region with the leading Southeast region, differences in returns to attributes account for a large part of the welfare disparities, in particular in metropolitan areas, supporting the presence of agglomeration effects in booming areas.Publication Latin America - Determinants of Regional Welfare Disparities within Latin American Countries : Country Case Studies(World Bank, 2009-05-01)This study analyzes the complicated and dynamic nature of welfare differences across space. The objectives are two-fold. First, the study seeks to provide a methodological framework useful for investigating the determinants of the observed differences in the standards of living between two regions at a given point in time. Second, it aims to provide empirical evidence on regional welfare differences to inform the policy debate surrounding regional inequalities within countries. Chapter two sets the stage by presenting the poverty profiles within and between regions in each of the eight countries in study. Chapter three reviews the methodology, based on the Oaxaca-Blinder (1973) decomposition method used to asses the relative size of the concentration and geography effect in welfare differences across regions/areas. Chapter four reports the findings from various comparisons conducted between urban and rural areas within regions, and urban vs. urban (or rural vs. rural) areas between regions. Chapter five focuses on the role of internal migration within Latin America (LAC) countries. Chapter six summarizes the available empirical evidence regarding the poverty and welfare impacts of the two most distinct types interventions associated with the concentration and the geography views: conditional cash transfers; and territorial development strategies. Chapter seven summarizes findings and discusses some of their main policy implications.Publication The Poverty Impacts of Climate Change : A Review of the Evidence(2011-04-01)Climate change is believed to represent a serious challenge to poverty reduction efforts around the globe. This paper conducts an up-to-date review of three main strands of the literature analyzing the poverty impacts of climate change : (i) economy-wide growth models incorporating climate change impacts to work out consistent scenarios for how climate change might affect the path of poverty over the next decades; (ii) studies focusing on the poverty impacts of climate change in the agricultural sector; and (iii) studies exploring how past climate variability impacts poverty. The analysis finds that the majority of the estimates of the poverty impacts tend to ignore the effect of aggregate economic growth on poverty and household welfare. The empirical evidence available to date suggests that climate change will slow the pace of global poverty reduction, but the expected poverty impact will be relatively modest and far from reversing the major decline in poverty that is expected to occur over the next 40 years as a result of continued economic growth. The studies focusing on the sector-specific channels of impacts of climate change suggest that the estimated impacts of climate change on agricultural yields are generally a poor predictor of the poverty impacts of climate change at the national level due to heterogeneity in the ability of households to adapt. It also appears that the impacts of climate change are generally regressive, that is, they fall more heavily on the poor than the rich.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10)The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-01-09)Note: Chart 1.2.B has been updated on January 18, 2024. Chart 2.2.3 B has been updated on January 14, 2024. Global growth is expected to slow further this year, reflecting the lagged and ongoing effects of tight monetary policy to rein in inflation, restrictive credit conditions, and anemic global trade and investment. Downside risks include an escalation of the recent conflict in the Middle East, financial stress, persistent inflation, weaker-than-expected activity in China, trade fragmentation, and climate-related disasters. Against this backdrop, policy makers face enormous challenges. In emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), commodity exporters face the enduring challenges posed by fiscal policy procyclicality and volatility, which highlight the need for robust fiscal frameworks. Across EMDEs, previous episodes of investment growth acceleration underscore the critical importance of macroeconomic and structural policies and an enabling institutional environment in bolstering investment and long-term growth. At the global level, cooperation needs to be strengthened to provide debt relief, facilitate trade integration, tackle climate change, and alleviate food insecurity.Publication Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-05)Digitalization is the transformational opportunity of our time. The digital sector has become a powerhouse of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Value added in the IT services sector grew at 8 percent annually during 2000–22, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Employment growth in IT services reached 7 percent annually, six times higher than total employment growth. The diffusion and adoption of digital technologies are just as critical as their invention. Digital uptake has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 billion new internet users added from 2018 to 2022. The share of firms investing in digital solutions around the world has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. Low-income countries, vulnerable populations, and small firms, however, have been falling behind, while transformative digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) have been accelerating in higher-income countries. Although more than 90 percent of the population in high-income countries was online in 2022, only one in four people in low-income countries used the internet, and the speed of their connection was typically only a small fraction of that in wealthier countries. As businesses in technologically advanced countries integrate generative AI into their products and services, less than half of the businesses in many low- and middle-income countries have an internet connection. The growing digital divide is exacerbating the poverty and productivity gaps between richer and poorer economies. The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.Publication The Container Port Performance Index 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-18)The Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) measures the time container ships spend in port, making it an important point of reference for stakeholders in the global economy. These stakeholders include port authorities and operators, national governments, supranational organizations, development agencies, and other public and private players in trade and logistics. The index highlights where vessel time in container ports could be improved. Streamlining these processes would benefit all parties involved, including shipping lines, national governments, and consumers. This fourth edition of the CPPI relies on data from 405 container ports with at least 24 container ship port calls in the calendar year 2023. As in earlier editions of the CPPI, the ranking employs two different methodological approaches: an administrative (technical) approach and a statistical approach (using matrix factorization). Combining these two approaches ensures that the overall ranking of container ports reflects actual port performance as closely as possible while also being statistically robust. The CPPI methodology assesses the sequential steps of a container ship port call. ‘Total port hours’ refers to the total time elapsed from the moment a ship arrives at the port until the vessel leaves the berth after completing its cargo operations. The CPPI uses time as an indicator because time is very important to shipping lines, ports, and the entire logistics chain. However, time, as captured by the CPPI, is not the only way to measure port efficiency, so it does not tell the entire story of a port’s performance. Factors that can influence the time vessels spend in ports can be location-specific and under the port’s control (endogenous) or external and beyond the control of the port (exogenous). The CPPI measures time spent in container ports, strictly based on quantitative data only, which do not reveal the underlying factors or root causes of extended port times. A detailed port-specific diagnostic would be required to assess the contribution of underlying factors to the time a vessel spends in port. A very low ranking or a significant change in ranking may warrant special attention, for which the World Bank generally recommends a detailed diagnostic.Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.