Alienated Life: Socioeconomic Characteristics of the Ultra Poor in Thailand

This paper analyzes socioeconomic characteristics of more than 1,300 extremely poor households randomly selected from rural areas in four regions of Thailand in 1999. These "ultra poor" households are observed to share the same demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as the ordinary-poor households in Thailand, such as relatively large family sizes, large demographic dependency ratios, household heads with low or no schooling, and lack of land assets. However, unlike the general poor, the ultra poor are more likely to be general laborers (instead of farm laborers), have a higher incidence of widows as heads of households, fewer number of working days, and greater burden of chronically ill and disabled persons in the family. Surprisingly, despite the Thai government's large number of social assistance schemes, very few of the ultra poor report receiving any assistance. A large proportion of the ultra poor are very pessimistic about their prospects for escaping poverty. To help the ultra poor, the paper concludes that the government will need to maintain macroeconomic and sectoral policies that bring about economic growth, adopt general anti-poverty policies that promote income-generating opportunity and capability of the poor, and provide safety nets for those whose family members suffer from catastrophic and chronic illnesses and disabilities.