The shades of Red and Yellow: evidence from survey data

Abstract

In Thailand, the political conflict during the past decade had led to a political polarization. This polarization is usually generalized as occuring between two groups: the red-shirt and the yellow-shirt. Despite such a practical depiction of the conflict, a conclusion should not be reached too hastily that the supporters of each color group simply share the same political attitudes and goals. Using survey data collected in 2012, this paper seeks to gain a better understanding of the variations in political attitudes within each group of political supporters. It also examines whether the red-shirt supporters and the yellow-shirt supporters are different in terms of their socioeconomic status and social preferences. The findings suggest that there are some variations in political attitudes and goals within each color group—there are at least 4 shades red-shirt and 3 shades of yellow-shirt. Results from an additional econometrics analysis suggest that the key determinants of political polarization in Thailand are occupation, education and social preferences. Income does not have a statistically significant impact once occupation, education, and social preferences are controlled for. However, because red-shirt supporters are likely to have unstable jobs and less education, they tend to have lower income. This political conflict is arguably a type of class conflict--the one between the volatile emerging middle class and the old middle class.