Economists raise doubts over populist policies prior to budget debate
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Thailand's leading economists are convinced that the government will achieve its revenue target of Bt2.2 trillion but have raised doubts over corruption prevention and populist policies, according to a poll by Bangkok University.
The poll, conducted prior to the parliamentary vetting on the 2013 budget bill from August 1517, covered 64 economists from 27 organisations.
Only 39.1 per cent of the respondents believed that the government would fail in meeting the revenue target. On the proposed budget deficit of Bt300 billion, 39.1 per cent suggested that the government could run a small budget deficit.
Although the investment budget is set at Bt448.9 billion or 18.7 per cent of expenditure, 40.6 per cent of the respondents urged a lift in the ratio to 23.4 per cent of budget. Of all, 32.8 per cent said that the investment budget is set at an appropriate level.
Worrying the economists the most were corruption (57.8 per cent), populist policy financing (20.3 per cent), and budget allocation efficiency (12.5 per cent).
Asked if the government should focus more on public debt reduction or budget allocation, over half of the respondents (51.6 per cent) supported the allocation of budget to achieve government targets rather than public debt reduction.
In this regard, they urged the government to prioritise projects in line with the economic development plan, enhance competitiveness through more investment in infrastructure and education, and focus on budget balancing without borrowing to finance populist policies.
