The Study of Public Opinion on Fiscal and Budgetary Choices in the Thai General Election B.E. 2554

Abstract

This study presents the result of a public opinion study on fiscal and budgetary policies, conducted during the Thai general election in 2011 (B.E.2554). The sample consists of 1,500 eligible voters who were selected based on multi-stage, probability sampling techniques. The survey incorporates voter preferences on three public finance issues: (i) the level of taxation and public services Thai government has provided; (ii) the direction for budget allocation; and (iii) tax/revenue raising choices. The fi ndings indicate the need for civic education on taxation and for availability of fi scal and budgetary information such that voters can articulate meaningful fiscal policy discussions and are able to make appropriate fiscal and budgetary choices.