It should be noted that the high or impressive growth since the 1960s has of course
trickled down some benefits to the poor. Absolute poverty has declined steadily from 57 per
cent in 1962-1963 to 24 per cent in 1981. (see Table 9). Income inequality has, in contrast,
increased in every region, both in rural and urban areas. It is true that a decline in the
incidence of absolute poverty can be quite consistent with an unchanged or even worsening
income distribution. (see Table 10) Many recent studies on income distribution emphasize
that a decline in the incidence of poverty can take place simultaneously with a worsening of
income distribution. Worsening income distribution over three decades in Thailand has
remained the case (see Huntaserinin and Jitsuchon, 1988; sussangkarn, 1992; Tinakorn,
1992;2002)