Factors Influencing Thai Military Budget in Two Decades, 2000 – 2019

Abstract

This research article attempts to answer the questions of which variables and factors have influenced the changing levels of Thai military budget within the years of 2000 – 2019. The budgetary data in the form of time series were collected annually and then analyzed by stepwise multiple regressions. The results indicated that in accordance with the theory of incrementalism, the variables influencing the changing levels of the previous year of Thai military budget were the most affected. Additionally, the variables of political rights regarding the political factor showed a negative correlation between Thai people’s political rights and the amount of Thai military budget within the years of 2000-2019. That is, when Thai people’s political rights are restricted, the military budget tends to get higher. That being said, although the variable of coup d'état was included in the regression model, there were no statistical significance seen.  Research results lead to conclusion that the Thai military budget is still considered to be conservative and since the budget is created on the basis of needs by considering conditions for pragmatic decision making. Changes in the size of the military budget based on rational decision cannot be estimated. In brief, the condition of political rights has significantly affected the amount of military budget.