Aging and Poverty in Thai Households Aging and Poverty in Thai Households

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the poverty among aging in Thai households, including absolute poverty and relative poverty, and to investigate the relationship between demographic factors and socioeconomic factors causing poor households, defined as earning below the Thai official poverty line. Secondary data from “The Household Socioeconomic Survey” compiled by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2000 and 2011 were employed in this study. Thai households in this study were classified into three categories which were 1. the only aging household, 2. the multi-generation household, and 3. the non-aging household. Results showed that during the period of study between 2000 and 2011, the number of poor households decreased rapidly; however, economic inequality among the households also decreased at a slower rate relatively. Moreover, logistic regression analysis showed that factors affecting the poverty of households were 1) increasing household members, 2) households that had a female household head, 3) households where the age of household heads was below 35 years and over 60 years, 4) the household head’s occupation was in the agricultural sector, 5) households in rural areas, 6) households in Bangkok and other regions compared to the central region. In case of an aging household was not associated with being a poor household that earned below the official poverty line. To solve the poverty problem, the government should, as a priority, focus on formulating a policy to reduce income inequality among Thai households.