Strengthening Social Welfare Policies: Plural Perspectives for Reducing Social Inequality among Impoverished Communities

Abstract

 Social welfare policies are a key for reducing social inequality. However, Thai society still contains inequality, especially among impoverished communities. This article aims to analyze policy formulation types and limitations of current social welfare policies for impoverishes communities in Thailand and synthesize suitable recommendations. The findings can be categorized into 5 topics as follows: 1) a top-down approach; 2) limitations on budgetary and tax measure limitations; 3) database and registration system inefficiency; 4) lack of integration with other disciplines; and 5) legal restrictions. The results from research synthesis suggests that a pluralism model should be used to improve social welfare policies based on the following components according to mainstream welfare with: 1) policies designed following a multidisciplinary approach; 2) decentralized local governmental and individual sector processes; 3) much-needed legal and budgetary reform; 4) focused and improved database systems and relevant technologies. For alternative social welfare policies, community-based welfare should be promoted by means of community empowerment.