Challenges of Developing a Universal Social Security System in Southeast Asia

: A Case Study of Thailand

Abstract

This paper uses Thailand as an example to point out that building a social security system for all citizens in Southeast Asia （hereinafter referred to as universal social security system） has different challenges from those in developed countries. Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, have developed rapidly after the war. However, rapid changes （modernization） in the economy and society, such as industrial structure （industrialization） and demographic trends （low birthrate and aging population）, make it difficult not only to develop a universal social security system but also to integrate existing social security systems. In addition, the challenges of being a middle-income country, such as the large amount of informal employment and severe fiscal constraints, as well as the widening disparities caused by economic globalization, have reduced the degree of freedom in developing social security systems.

Considering these points, it is highly likely that Southeast Asia’s path to a universal social security system and, ultimately, to becoming a welfare state will be different from that in Europe and the United States.