From the result of the 2006 Thai local government survey analysis, there are
further implications for the decentralization and local governance in Thailand.
First of all, while decentralization in Thailand has tried to strengthen basic
local governments (Thesaban and the TAOs), horizontal relationship between local
governments and field agencies seems to be very important in local governance. While
this survey was conducted 8 years ago, this tendency does not seem to be changed.
Secondly, the interaction between local governments and central government
agencies (district chief/assistant officers and DLAs) was not significant in deciding
the local capability. This suggests that as the result of gradual decentralization in
Thailand since 1994, local governments have become more independent in deciding
their policies.
Thirdly, the difference between “Rural” and “Urban” local governments was
very important in the Thai local government system in terms of the local capability.
This strongly suggests that this kind of structural difference should be minimized as
much as possible wherever local residents live in Thailand. However, this situation has
become more complicated because of the upgrading of TAOs to Thesaban.
Lastly, while our model can explain the capability of the Thai local
governments, many other variables should be inquired, such as the interaction with
local residents/residential groups, allocation of financial resources in each local
government and among local governments. This paper shows just the start of the
scientific research of Thai local governments based on the survey results.