Income inequality remains big challenge for Thailand: WB

BANGKOK, March 14 (TNA) -- A new World Bank report shows income inequality remains a big challenge for Thailand as an estimated seven million Thai people were poor and an additional 6.7 million were at risk of falling into poverty. The report, “Getting Back on Track: Reviving Growth and Securing Prosperity for All” assesses the most pressing challenges and opportunities in ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Lars Sondergaard, World Bank Program Leader for Human Development and Poverty and lead author of the report, stressed that the report explored how Thailand can restart its economic engine in ways that benefit all people in the country and help protect the environment. The report identifies policies that will create more opportunities for more Thais to earn and live productive lives as well as give poor families a chance to grow. It highlights priorities in four areas: creating more and better jobs; providing more support to the bottom 40 percent of the nation’s population; making eco-friendly growth; and strengthening the institutional capability of public sectors. Over the past few decades, Thailand has made tremendous development progress. Still, an estimated 7 million Thai people were poor and an additional 6.7 million were at risk of falling into poverty in 2014, the report says. “The analyses and literature used in this study were complemented by an extensive nationwide engagement with government and various stakeholder groups in the country, including development partners, private sector, academia, and civil society.” said Sondergaard. He said, “We hope this study will help the government and other partners engage in building the future of Thailand.” (TNA)