Income Recovery of Thai Workers From the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how COVID-19 and the resultant lockdown affected Thai workers and how their income has recovered as of the end of 2020. We conducted three phases of telephone surveys to track the income dynamics of Thai workers during the months of May, August, and November 2020. The initial COVID-19 impact on Thai worker income was enormous and very broad. On average, Thai workers' income fell by 47.03%, and 69.7% suffered such a loss. Over the six months survey period, most Thai workers had just begun to stabilize their income, but only a few were actually able to recover. Quantile regression analysis revealed particular factors that influenced income recovery. For example, being a formal worker tended to help one's income to recover faster. Interestingly, COVID-19 assistance schemes from the government, although essential to those in need, had a negative impact on income recovery. On the other hand, the cheap loan policy seems to have been more effective as workers whose incomes were in the middle and the top quantiles experienced faster income recovery. © 2023 by De La Salle University.