Exploitation and abuse
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These workers are wary of official and police harassment, and so without a voice in society are extremely vulnerable to both exploitation and abuse. The report explains that many workers receive less than the Thai minimum wage, others endure dangerous working conditions and sometimes suffer physical abuse. In this case, it could be argued that the best measure of poverty is a human rights-based one – as this is a poverty caused by a violation of basic rights.
However, governments frequently show limited concern for migrant rights – especially those who are in the country illegally.
The worst poverty in the country remains concentrated in the northern area of Thailand among the indigenous hill tribe villagers. With a number of local languages, more than 3,500 villages and upwards of 750,000 people living in remote highland areas, there are significant challenges for poverty reduction. Poverty in such rural areas is often measured in terms of composite indices of access to basic services and materials, such as electricity, transport links, school access and healthcare.
However, one problem with wider composite measures of poverty is that they may involve social value judgments that could be opposed by members of the community. As some have pointed out, such composites are based on the desire to provide a "good life" – but this is a socially and culturally loaded term. Who decides what this constitutes?
This conflict of opinion frequently manifests itself as a generational split within the community itself – where the younger villagers welcome the increased opportunities to move away from their villages, while the older members worry that their cultural identity and language are being lost.
Ultimately, however, poverty reduction needs to be about more than just statistics, indicators or measures. They are all useful, but no person or group can be reduced simply to a number on a chart.
Soon Ton may be above an arbitrary poverty line, but that doesn't mean she doesn't need support. As a result, top-down targets based on MDG or other statistical measures may not always be the best approach to alleviate poverty.
Focusing on a bottom-up approach, which measures poverty through a participatory approach of dialogue with the community, has a greater potential to ensure that the poor themselves are given a voice in society and are engaged in their own development policies. That should be the ultimate yardstick to measure poverty policies in Thailand, and is the necessary next step for middle-income countries to continue with their progress in poverty alleviation.