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The Australian Development Gateway (ADG) strives to support members of the development community in their efforts to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region. The site has been created with participation from members of government, private, academia and non-government organisations. User feedback mechanisms have been incorporated to guide future directions of the site. The site is optimised for low bandwidth access to enable the widest participation throughout the Asia Pacific region.

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Marginalisation & Vulnerable Groups

The elderly and social protection in Thailand (pdf 210kb)

This paper addresses the issues concerning the elderly and their social protection in the Thai society. It looks at the discussions of the concept of social justice and the welfare state, and also of social protection and the role of state.

The objectives of a proper role of a welfare state in a general system are:
- to promote efficiency in the allocation of resources of the economy
- to support reasonable living standards
- to reduce inequality
- to promote and guarantee social inclusion
- to create administrative feasibility

This paper shows that there are several attempts in Thailand in the aftermath of the economic crisis in 1997 to install a certain system of social protection in addition to the employment related social security system and state-subsidized health care programs. Yet, the coverage of this social protection in Thailand is still quite thin.

 

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