LABOR AND HOUSEHOLD INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN THAILAND: A SAM-BASED ASSESSMENT

Abstract

The Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) is a table that illustrates the interrelationships of income and expenditure among various sectors of an economic system. This research aims to develop a Social Accounting Matrix for Thailand in the year 2019, which disaggregates labor skills and household income levels, and to analyze the impact of changes in the external account on income distribution in Thailand. The researchers categorized the labor sector into two types: unskilled labor and skilled labor. The household sector was divided into three groups based on income levels: low-income households, middle-income households, and high-income households. The study, through both demand-driven and supply-driven analyses, found that three sectors have high multipliers with strong forward linkages in both demand and supply: Trade sector, Restaurants and Hotels sector, and Banking and Insurance sector. Furthermore, the labor employment multiplier from the demand-driven analysis revealed that the Sugarcane sector and the Public Services sector have the highest backward linkages for unskilled labor and skilled labor, with values of 0.517 and 0.427, respectively. Therefore, the government may consider formulating policies to promote Trade sector, Restaurants and Hotels sector, and Banking and Insurance sector, which are important for both upstream and downstream industries in the country, and to develop labor policies that support unskilled and skilled labor in Sugarcane sector and Public Services sector.