Expanding government spending in Thailand but little on much-needed infrastructure
By Jon Fernquest
Government
spending in Thailand has been increasing in recent years.A decreasing portion of this spending, however, has been going into the infrastructure that Thailand so sorely needs.
Investment in an expanded rail network is one good example (Read recent article).
Today's article begins after the vocabulary.
Photo on right of an irrigation canal being dug. Irrigation canals are a good example of much-needed infrastructure.
infrastructure
- The basic facilities, services, and
installations needed for the functioning of the community, such as
transportation and communications systems, water and power lines, and
public institutions including schools, post offices, and prisons (See Google
Definitions) สาธารณูปโภค
portion - part of an amount or total บางส่วน
rail (adjective) - related to trains and railways
network - a large system of connected parts, organisations, people, etc. เครือข่าย ...
irrigation - the canals, pipes, and other technology that delivers waters to crops grown by farmers (See Wikipedia)
canal - a waterway or artificial river คลอง
portion - part of an amount or total บางส่วน
rail (adjective) - related to trains and railways
network - a large system of connected parts, organisations, people, etc. เครือข่าย ...
irrigation - the canals, pipes, and other technology that delivers waters to crops grown by farmers (See Wikipedia)
canal - a waterway or artificial river คลอง
Opinion
SAY TELL, NINE TEN
B2 trillion question: Where does it all go
14/07/2010Sethaput Suthiwart-Narueput
Most of us in Thailand celebrate New Year's two or three times a year: the international one in January; the Chinese one in February; and the Thai one in April.
But some in Thailand also get to celebrate the Fiscal New Year in October. For them, the fiscal or budget season is also a time of celebration and gift-giving, a time to dispense favours and largesse.
international
- between countries ระหว่างประเทศ
fiscal - connected with government spending and budget, i.e., public money เกี่ยวกับงบประมาณ
budget - the plan for spending during a period of time within a company or organization งบประมาณ (See Wikipedia)
dispense - give things to someone
largesse - the generous giving of money and gifts to large numbers of people
favours - help and special things you do for friends or other people you know without getting paid
dispense favours and largesse - give large numbers of people help, money or gifts (usually in return for something in the future)
fiscal - connected with government spending and budget, i.e., public money เกี่ยวกับงบประมาณ
budget - the plan for spending during a period of time within a company or organization งบประมาณ (See Wikipedia)
dispense - give things to someone
largesse - the generous giving of money and gifts to large numbers of people
favours - help and special things you do for friends or other people you know without getting paid
dispense favours and largesse - give large numbers of people help, money or gifts (usually in return for something in the future)
Our government budget passed a milestone this year. The annual budget for fiscal 2011 (Oct 1, 2010 to Sept 30, 2011) exceeds two trillion baht for the first time ever. Two trillion is a lot of baht. It is about 20% of our GDP. It is enough to build another 17 Suvarnabhumi airports.
Ten years ago, the budget was only 910 billion baht. It has more than doubled. Where has all the increased spending gone? The short answer is: not where it should.
What we really need is more public investment, e.g., spending on infrastructure to help our productivity. But 10 years ago public investment was 220 billion baht. In the latest budget, it is still only 245 billion baht. Adjusted for inflation, public investment has actually dropped 20% over the last 10 years.
milestone
- an important event in the history or development of
something เหตุการณ์สำคัญ (ที่ควรบันทึกไว้), ความสำเร็จอันยิ่งใหญ่
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
investment - taking your money and putting it into projects to make a profit or earn interest (buying stock shares, bonds, real estate)
infrastructure - The basic facilities, services, and installations needed for the functioning of the community, such as transportation and communications systems, water and power lines, and public institutions including schools, post offices, and prisons (See Google Definitions) สาธารณูปโภค
productivity - producing more with the same amount of inputs (labour, energy, etc) การผลิตสินค้า
inflation - the level of prices rising in the economy as a whole (See Wikipedia and The Economist glossary) ภาวะเงินเฟ้อ, อัตราเงินเฟ้อ
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
investment - taking your money and putting it into projects to make a profit or earn interest (buying stock shares, bonds, real estate)
infrastructure - The basic facilities, services, and installations needed for the functioning of the community, such as transportation and communications systems, water and power lines, and public institutions including schools, post offices, and prisons (See Google Definitions) สาธารณูปโภค
productivity - producing more with the same amount of inputs (labour, energy, etc) การผลิตสินค้า
inflation - the level of prices rising in the economy as a whole (See Wikipedia and The Economist glossary) ภาวะเงินเฟ้อ, อัตราเงินเฟ้อ
I am not worried that we will allow our public finances to deteriorate like in Greece and Portugal. Our policy authorities have traditionally been fairly prudent and are unlikely to allow our budget deficits and public debt to get out of control.
What worries me is that the public investment we need is getting crowded out by all kinds of other spending.
About a third of our 2-trillion-baht budget goes to personnel-related expenses. Operating expenses and financing payments account for another third. There is little scope for reducing these expenditures.
deteriorate
- to become worse เลวร้ายลง
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
authorities - government officials, the people with power เจ้าหน้าที่ ผู้มีอำนาจของรัฐ
prudent - careful and using good judgment รอบคอบ ถี่ถ้วน (See glossary)
deficits - when spending is greater than money coming in (must be financed by borrowing and increased debt)
debt - an amount of money that you owe หนี้
public investment - investment by the government (for the public in general, not just one company)
crowded out - not getting some scarce resource because so many others demand it (like a person being pushed out of a "crowded" room full of people)
scarce - not much that exists
personnel - people who work for a company or organisation
operating expenses - the money spent to keep an organization running from day to day (on salaries, electricity, supplies, transportation, etc) (See Wikipedia)
little scope for Y - doing Y is difficult because there is little money or resources that can be used to do it
expenditures - money spent by an organization on things it needs
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
authorities - government officials, the people with power เจ้าหน้าที่ ผู้มีอำนาจของรัฐ
prudent - careful and using good judgment รอบคอบ ถี่ถ้วน (See glossary)
deficits - when spending is greater than money coming in (must be financed by borrowing and increased debt)
debt - an amount of money that you owe หนี้
public investment - investment by the government (for the public in general, not just one company)
crowded out - not getting some scarce resource because so many others demand it (like a person being pushed out of a "crowded" room full of people)
scarce - not much that exists
personnel - people who work for a company or organisation
operating expenses - the money spent to keep an organization running from day to day (on salaries, electricity, supplies, transportation, etc) (See Wikipedia)
little scope for Y - doing Y is difficult because there is little money or resources that can be used to do it
expenditures - money spent by an organization on things it needs
But there are also a whole host of other expenditures which are now required by law or the Constitution (e.g. transfers to local governments; free education for 12 years; funding for constitutional agencies). My own, rough estimate of how much spending is now "locked in" in one form or another is around 1.6 trillion baht. This is before any spending on public investment by the central government.
host
- many, lots of
transfers - changing the location of a person's work (for example, transferred to work in a different province) โอน โยกย้าย
local - in a small local area, a town, district or "tambon" ท้องถิ่น
funding - money given for a particular purpose การให้เงินสนับสนุน
constitutional - allowed according to the constitution ถูกต้องหรืออยู่ในขอบข่ายที่ระบุไว้ในรัฐธรรมนูญ
estimate - guesses about an amount might be, to say what you think an amount or value is or will be, either by using available information or by guessing คาดคะเน, โดยประมาณ
locked in - cannot be changed, fixed
transfers - changing the location of a person's work (for example, transferred to work in a different province) โอน โยกย้าย
local - in a small local area, a town, district or "tambon" ท้องถิ่น
funding - money given for a particular purpose การให้เงินสนับสนุน
constitutional - allowed according to the constitution ถูกต้องหรืออยู่ในขอบข่ายที่ระบุไว้ในรัฐธรรมนูญ
estimate - guesses about an amount might be, to say what you think an amount or value is or will be, either by using available information or by guessing คาดคะเน, โดยประมาณ
locked in - cannot be changed, fixed
Oddly enough, 1.6 trillion also turns out to be how much revenue the government expects to collect this year as well. This means that if we wanted to run a balanced budget with no deficit, we essentially have no room left over for investment spending. The increasing affinity for providing subsidies and handouts under the guise of social welfare will further reduce the headroom available in the budget.
revenue
- income from taxes or business activities รายได้
collect revenue - when the government gets taxes from people
balanced budget - a situation where money coming into the government or organization equals money spent (going out) meaning borrowing is not needed to finance that spending
deficit - when you spend more than you receive (has to be financed or funded by borrowing)
essentially - for the most part ที่สำคัญที่สุด
no room left over for - everything has been used, so none left for other uses...
affinity - an attraction or liking for something (often based on knowing or understanding something)
subsidies - when the government pays part of the cost of an activity เงินช่วยเหลือ เงินสนับสนุน
handouts - free money and things (given to people without requiring anything in return) แจกจ่าย, สิ่งที่หยิบยื่นให้ฟรี
X under the guise of Y - X looking like Y or pretending to be Y
welfare - living in good conditions (with health, wealth, and happiness) ความสะดวกสบาย, ความมีสุขภาพดี, สวัสดิภาพ
social welfare - government money given to those in need (poor, retired, sick, disabled, orphans, etc)
headroom - the space between your head and the ceiling (especially in a car)
reduce the headroom available - meaning perhaps: reduce the amount left over that can be spent on worthwhile projects
collect revenue - when the government gets taxes from people
balanced budget - a situation where money coming into the government or organization equals money spent (going out) meaning borrowing is not needed to finance that spending
deficit - when you spend more than you receive (has to be financed or funded by borrowing)
essentially - for the most part ที่สำคัญที่สุด
no room left over for - everything has been used, so none left for other uses...
affinity - an attraction or liking for something (often based on knowing or understanding something)
subsidies - when the government pays part of the cost of an activity เงินช่วยเหลือ เงินสนับสนุน
handouts - free money and things (given to people without requiring anything in return) แจกจ่าย, สิ่งที่หยิบยื่นให้ฟรี
X under the guise of Y - X looking like Y or pretending to be Y
welfare - living in good conditions (with health, wealth, and happiness) ความสะดวกสบาย, ความมีสุขภาพดี, สวัสดิภาพ
social welfare - government money given to those in need (poor, retired, sick, disabled, orphans, etc)
headroom - the space between your head and the ceiling (especially in a car)
reduce the headroom available - meaning perhaps: reduce the amount left over that can be spent on worthwhile projects
The real question is: what are we getting for our 2 trillion baht? The agency with the largest budget allocation is the Ministry of Education, with 388 billion baht or about a fifth of the entire budget. Their budget has increased 2.4 times from 10 years ago.
I am sure that some official somewhere has all manner of statistics and performance indicators to demonstrate that the money has been well spent.
allocation
- an amount or share of something that is given to someone การแบ่งส่วน
budget allocation - an amount of money given to a project or program out of the annual budget of an organization
official - approved by the government or some authority ที่เป็นทางการ
has all manner of Y - has many Y and also a great variety of different Y too
statistics - facts about something, described by counting them สถิติ
performance - how well or badly something works (or whether an investment provides a reasonable return)
performance indicators - measures that show whether something worked well or badly
demonstrate - to show something and explain how it works สาธิต
money well spent - money not wasted, but rather spent on something likely to have future benefits
budget allocation - an amount of money given to a project or program out of the annual budget of an organization
official - approved by the government or some authority ที่เป็นทางการ
has all manner of Y - has many Y and also a great variety of different Y too
statistics - facts about something, described by counting them สถิติ
performance - how well or badly something works (or whether an investment provides a reasonable return)
performance indicators - measures that show whether something worked well or badly
demonstrate - to show something and explain how it works สาธิต
money well spent - money not wasted, but rather spent on something likely to have future benefits
But I am equally sure that many of you have also found the quality of the students we produce to be less than inspiring. What is worrisome is the lack of any clear accountability over spending. There seems to be an increasing proliferation of all manner of new agencies and funds, each with their own demands on the budget. This is a sure-fire way to lose control over spending.
worrisome
- worrying; causing worry or anxiety ซึ่งน่าวิตก
lack - does not have ขาดแคลน
clear - easy to understand
accountability - a situation where people have the right to ask you about or criticise you for something that has happened ความน่าเชื่อถือ
proliferation - an increase in the number of something
funds - money to be used for a specific purposes เงินทุน
demands - the things that someone is asking you to do
sure-fire way - a way to do something that works for sure
lack - does not have ขาดแคลน
clear - easy to understand
accountability - a situation where people have the right to ask you about or criticise you for something that has happened ความน่าเชื่อถือ
proliferation - an increase in the number of something
funds - money to be used for a specific purposes เงินทุน
demands - the things that someone is asking you to do
sure-fire way - a way to do something that works for sure
Each new agency creates its own bureaucratic overhead, often in perpetuity. How many government agencies can we name that have closed down, even when the rationale for their existence has long disappeared.
We now have 26 "public organisations" which are funded out of the budget. The Ministry of Science and Technology alone has six. One of them is the Synchrotron Light Research Institute. I have nothing against synchrotrons - I have no idea what they are - but I do hope that they are worth the 270 million baht that we pay this institute each year from our taxes.
bureaucratic
- relating to government departments or officials เกี่ยวกับระบบราชการ
overhead - a business's fixed expenses that have to be paid no matter how much is produced ("variable expenses" vary with the amount produced)
rationale - a reason for doing something มีเหตุผลที่ดีในการทำสิ่งนั้นๆ
long disappeared - has disappeared and not been seen for a long time
funded - given money บริจาค, ให้ความช่วยเหลือทางการเงิน ให้เงินลงทุน
overhead - a business's fixed expenses that have to be paid no matter how much is produced ("variable expenses" vary with the amount produced)
rationale - a reason for doing something มีเหตุผลที่ดีในการทำสิ่งนั้นๆ
long disappeared - has disappeared and not been seen for a long time
funded - given money บริจาค, ให้ความช่วยเหลือทางการเงิน ให้เงินลงทุน
Greater transparency would help improve accountability. As a start, any agency or department that is funded by taxpayers should make their accounts publicly and readily available. This would help make evaluation of the use of public funds not just the responsibility of agencies like the Office of the Auditor-General or Budget Bureau, but also of the people who actually use the services of those agencies.
Such transparency can do wonderful and unexpected things.
In Uganda, the central government found that for every dollar they spent on non-wage items for education (e.g. textbooks and materials), only about 20 cents actually reached the schools. Local districts "captured" most of the funding.
transparency
- details are made public (no secrets or hidden private aspects), an
honest way of doing things that allows other people to know exactly
what you are doing ความโปร่งใส
improve - to make better ทำให้ดีขึ้น
taxpayers - people who pay taxes (who don't want to see their hard-earned money wasted) ผู้เสียภาษี
accounts - the accounting records of a company, the records of money paid, received or owed over a period of time by a company
publicly available - available to everyone (in the public)
readily available - easily available (if you need it)
responsibility - having to take care of some task as part of your job
wage - an amount of money that you earn for working, usually according to how many hours or days you work each week or month ค่าจ้าง
improve - to make better ทำให้ดีขึ้น
taxpayers - people who pay taxes (who don't want to see their hard-earned money wasted) ผู้เสียภาษี
accounts - the accounting records of a company, the records of money paid, received or owed over a period of time by a company
publicly available - available to everyone (in the public)
readily available - easily available (if you need it)
responsibility - having to take care of some task as part of your job
wage - an amount of money that you earn for working, usually according to how many hours or days you work each week or month ค่าจ้าง
To respond to the problem, the central government published data on monthly transfers to districts and required schools and districts to post notices on all inflows of funds.
Parents and schools now had information to monitor and demand greater accountability. Due largely to this information campaign, funds reaching the schools subsequently increased to 80 cents on the dollar.
respond
- to say or do something as a reaction to something that has been said
or done ตอบสนอง, ตอบรับ
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
monitor - keep track of ตรวจ, ติดตาม, เฝ้าสังเกต
demand - request or ask for something strongly
campaign - a planned group of especially political, business or military activities which are intended to achieve a particular aim การรณรงค์
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
monitor - keep track of ตรวจ, ติดตาม, เฝ้าสังเกต
demand - request or ask for something strongly
campaign - a planned group of especially political, business or military activities which are intended to achieve a particular aim การรณรงค์
Transparency is our due as taxpayers. We may not be invited to the budget season festivities and the handing out of gifts and largesse. But at least they could let us know what gifts they are handing out. After all, we are paying for them with our taxes.
The writer is with the SCB Economic Intelligence Center (EIC). The views expressed here are his own and not those of SCB or its affiliates. He can be reached at. :
due
- something that you should
have, something you have
the right to have
festivities - the parties, meals and other social activities with which people celebrate a special occasion การเฉลิมฉลอง
affiliates
- companies connected with in some way with a larger company
festivities - the parties, meals and other social activities with which people celebrate a special occasion การเฉลิมฉลอง
