Public Perspectives on Roles of Thai Government

Abstract

This paper is the 2017 public opinion survey on the direction and role of Thai government. The purpose of the study was to measure the public opinion regarding the role of the government in Thailand and to explore the factors affecting trust in the government and the expectation of people on the responsibility of the government. This was a quantitative research study, which was conducted between 2017 of June and August. The research population included a sample of 1,459 Thai citizens over the age of 18 with voting rights. Moreover, the study utilized a questionnaire, using the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) on the Role of Government Module network, as a data collection method. The major research findings are that Individuals who were more highly educated, older, and those who considered them to be a higher level of corruption among government officers were found to explain lower levels of public trust in government offices. Furthermore, more highly educated individuals and those who considered there to be a higher level of corruption among politicians were found to be related to lower levels of public trust in politicians. The level of public trust in government offices had a significant effect on the first three roles of government to provide jobs for Thai citizens, support industry if they want to grow, and provide housing for the unemployed. Moreover, the level of public trust in politicians was found to significantly affect perceptions on gender equality support, provide housing for those who cannot find by themselves, and strict environmental laws enforcement. It can be concluded that if citizens trust government officers and politicians, they will expect better government performance. Thus, the government should support gender equality in Thailand. Additionally, the government should support jobs for the Thai people, offering financial support about education, and ensuring a decent quality of housing for the unemployed and solve the problem of low income students. Nonetheless, corruption is the most important issue for the government to rectify. The Thai government should resolve corruption among government officers and politicians by enhancing the rule and law, by establishing mechanisms to access information and enable transparency, and by increasing citizen participation in government decision making in order to decrease corruption and increase public trust.