The World Bank is expected to evaluate in August the impact of the pandemic on Thailand, determining how it has affected the poor, says Pongnakorn Pochakorn, the Fiscal Policy Office’s senior expert on macroeconomic policy.

The evaluation includes both negative and positive factors, such as the continued outbreak and government relief measures, said Mr Pongnakorn.

According to a previous joint evaluation by the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) and the World Bank, the pandemic increased the number of people living under the poverty line to 5.8 million during 2020-2021, up by 1.5 million from 2019. The tally does not include the impact of the third wave of the outbreak starting in April this year.

The government recently introduced the 500-billion-baht emergency loan decree following the launch of the 1-trillion-baht loan decree last year to bring relief to the people battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The World Bank evaluation of the number of people living in poverty in Thailand is based on the NESDC’s statistics. Thailand defines the poverty line as monthly income lower than 2,763 baht, or 33,156 baht per year.

He said the economic crisis caused by the pandemic has had a greater impact on the poor than falling crop prices in 2016 or the US-China trade war in 2018.

The number of people living in poverty has declined the past 30 years thanks to Thailand’s continued economic development, said Mr Pongnakorn, from 34.1 million in 1988 to 4.3 million in 2019.

Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2127919/probe-into-poverty-planned