NESDB Denied “Thailand is not The First Rank in Inequality Index”
Affirmed Thailand Has Been Improving Unequaled Index Since 2007.
7-12-2018—Today NESDB Spokesman and Deputy Secretary General Mr.Danucha Pichayanun affirmed that of the total 67 nations Thailand has been raking No. 40 in Inequality index as of the year 2015, refer to World Bank Standard GINI Coefficient Index NESDB has been using in the report of National Statistic survey over 50,000 households every two years, found that Thai people unequaled index has been improving during the past ten years, denied Social Media’s used Wealth Distribution Index of CS Global Wealth Report 2018 misguided report in public that Thailand ranking the first in global unequaled Index
NESDB Spokesman disclosed that Thailand has been adjusting Thailand’s unequaled situation by using World Bank standard’s GINI Coefficient Index that World Bank has been using in adjusting the inequality in around 110 nations.
GINI Coefficient Index or Inequality coefficient divided in to 1) Income GINI and 2) Expenditure GINI. The value of the index is between 0-1, if the value of GINI index remain in low level, it will reflex better condition in the distribution of income and expenditure than when the index is in high level.
For Thailand, The GINI Inequality Coefficient Index calculation in both types has been using National Statistics Office’s Economic and Social Situation survey which collected the data from around 52,010 households. The income survey has been made twice a year while the expenditure survey has been made once a year.
The latest data in 2017 found that Thailand’s GINI’s Income Inequality value was 0.453 or 45.3% while GINI’s Expenditure Inequality value was 0.364 or 36.4%.
If comparing Thailand’s inequality situation during the past ten years, it reflexed that the situation has been continued improved. The value of GINI’s Income Inequality reduced from 0.499 in the year 2007 to 0.453 in the year 2017 (reduced 0.046 or 4.6%) and the value of GINI’s Expenditure Inequality was reduced from 0.398 in the year 2007 to 0.364 in the year 2017 (reduced 0.034 or 3.4%)
I was also found narrower gap trend of the income and expenditure between the highest income group of people and the lowest income group of people The income gap between the two group was reduced from 25.10 times in 2007 to 19.29 times in 2017 (reduced 5.81 times), while he expenditure gap between the two group was reduced from 11.70 times in 2007 to 9.32 times in 2017 (reduced 2.38 times).
Even the inequality situation in Thailand has been improved, it need to focusing on conducting through many measures of government sector to help the small income group of people and medium income group of people gain more income and making better income distribution from high income group of people to others group of people.
NESDP Spokesman disclosed that refer to World Bank’s GINI coefficient inequality report, Thailand has been continued in ranking improvement. In the year 2013 Thailand ranked No 46 of 73 countries and step up to rank No 40 of 67 countries in the year 2015.
By the way, refer to the latest data report by World Bank, the value of Thailand’s GINI coefficient inequality is 0.36 which is not much difference when compare with the GINI index of the developed country such as UK which its value of GINI index is 0.33, while the value of GINI index of USA is 0.41.
The CS Global Wealth Report 2018 which some social media misguided in the report of too negative of GINI inequality ranking of Thailand using the Wealth Distribution adjustment by using the data of the 35 countries which mostly are developed countries such as France, Italy, Sweden, Japan, South Korea and China, etc, while Thailand never collected the Wealth Ownership data which are too complicated to gain the actual data.
It was clearly report that Thailand is in the group of 133 countries which has only have the data of income distribution but have the rough estimation of Wealth Distribution without the data of Wealth Ownership
The spokesman also said that the Wealth Distribution set of data base on real survey method under World Bank standard that NESDB has been using since the year 1988 is more reliable in reflexing Thailand’s inequality situation comparing with the report on some social media using
Thailand’s Wealth Distribution Data of the year 2006 comparing with the data of others countries’ which are from various difference years that could not reflex Thailand real situation of inequality.
NESDB considered that to reduce the difference and inequality of the income is the important matter that government has been continue to conduct, in order to create farer income distribution through government mechanism together with the cooperation from private sector to enhance the opportunity to create occupation and income, social welfare including education, public health and residence. NESDB target Thailand to have income distribution goal that the income differentiation between the 10% highest income group of people and the 10% lowest group of people will be no more than 15 times within the year 2037 or in the next 19 years, or 0.36 level in the GINI income.
