ECONOMIC INEQUALITY OF THAI ELDERLY HOUSEHOLDS

Abstract

This research is quantitative research, with three objectives which were to compare the total household’s income, expenditure and household’s food beverage and tobacco expenditure to illustrates the economic inequality among households and to explore the determinants of household expenditure. This paper divided household into two groups, the first is household with ageing person and the second are the household without ageing person. Secondary data from “the socio-economic survey in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2017 complied by the National Statistical Office (NSO) were employed to this paper. Results showed that household with ageing person were more likely to have lower an average of household income and expenditure than those who were household without ageing person. However, household with ageing person were more likely to have higher ratios on food beverage and tobacco expense and the medical and drugs expense and the social expense than household without ageing person. Household with ageing person were more likely had a higher level of income inequality than household with ageing person, however there was not different between two types of households in terms of expenditure inequality. Finally result indicated that the factors determined household’s expenditure for household with ageing person statistically were age and level of education for household head, area of residence, household size, household income, ratio of earner in household and household dependency ratio.