Evaluation of Economic Stimulus Project in Sub-District Areas: A Case Study of the 5 Million Baht per Sub-District Program, Ubon Ratchathani Province

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: 1) to assess the implementation of economic stimulus measures in sub-district areas; and 2) to create guidelines for the development of a model for implementing local economic stimulus projects in the future. A mixed-methods design was employed, including both quantitative and qualitative techniques. For qualitative research, multistage sampling was used to select 413 participants, who were local administrators and officials in the three districts that received the highest budget, comprising Trakan Phuet Phon District, Khueang Nai District, and Warin Chamrap District. The qualitative data were collected using documentary research and interviews with 10 key informants involved in the implementation. The research tools were questionnaires for quantitative research and interview forms for qualitative research. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, and mean, while the qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis with descriptive presentation. 

The results of the first objective comprise the following: 1) The income level decreased, whereas the levels of household consumption and employment increased (C-Context). 2) The budget for type-1 projects concerning public asset maintenance and restoration was 971,147,830 baht, or 87.56% of the total budget (I-Input). 3) The implementation process was clear and organized, and all steps were completed on time, focusing on building public participation in the local areas, with a mechanism to supervise and examine every step of the implementation (P-Process). 4) The program could directly and indirectly generate income and effectively increase household consumption for the local people (P-Product).  2) the results suggested that if the 5 million baht per sub-district program continues in the future, the budget should go to the local government organization with sufficient personnel, especially civil engineers, to prepare construction documents such as Por Ror 4 and Por Ror 5 and oversee construction work since most of the projects involve basic infrastructure construction. Another solution is to allocate the budget directly to the local people.