Previously on Little Historical Moments – we discussed how the Kingdoms of Norway and Thailand, the Land of the Free became nation-states. While both states are renowned for their citizens’ standard of living and their policies, a closer look at their welfare system is essential to understand the mechanisms behind their high rankings.
Norway and Thailand are nations that center the well-being of their citizens at the core of their initiatives. With both countries ranking high on the welfare echelon, their approaches and methodologies involving welfare consider the cultural, economic, and political aspects. This blog will describe the social welfare systems that exist in Norway and Thailand while discussing their similarities and divergent points.
Norwegians have a higher and healthier lifespan than most Europeans credited to the nation’s welfare efforts to emphasize effective and quality preventative measures and care. Norway’s social welfare system is modeled on the National Insurance Scheme which came about shortly after the Second World War. Widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive and egalitarian in the world, the state’s welfare main policy mission is centered around universalism. The policy focuses to reduce socioeconomic disparities and ensure a high standard of living for its citizens as part of national integration project initiatives to center an extensive range of social rights that honors its citizens’ right to a decent standard of living. Consequently, it primarily focuses on universal healthcare, social security, and free education and relies significantly on wealth redistribution, social consumption, and taxation for funding. Hence permitting structural social welfare to remain accessible to the population regardless of socioeconomic background. Although the homogenous state functions based on a system that is both universalistic and residence-based, there are eligibility criteria that allow access to benefits for newcomers (Brochmann, 2013).
In contrast, Thailand has experienced one of the world’s highest and most constant rates of economic growth. Its social welfare system distinguishes itself tremendously from its counterpart Norway due to cultural and economic factors. Since 1975, Thailand has been on a steady yet remarkable economic growth which has played a pillar role in reducing poverty levels from nearly one-third to presently less than 10% (Warr, 2001). Although development infrastructure standards in health, education, housing, and other public facilities differ from Western countries, they are well established (Furuto, 2013). Aside from universal healthcare coverage, both countries have in common, the main two notable aspects of the Thais’ welfare are the implementation of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs and the Informal Welfare Networks. Such programs aim to alleviate poverty among low-income and working-class citizens, especially in marginalized communities with contingents ensuring that the state’s high education levels remain intact. However, the pension systems only cover one-third of the working-age population. Additionally, while Thailand is known for its universal health care program (UHC), many believe the quality of education to be in dire need of reassessment and a weak point for “the country’s human development”.
To conclude, the social welfare systems in Norway and Thailand are prime examples of what the behind-the-scenes implementation entails for developed and emerging countries. While they both center on the well-being of their citizens and incorporate policies to support this end goal, the two nations have a long way to go individually with systemic biases that may constitute a challenge to their comprehensive approach. Though Norway is able to fund its welfare system, the same cannot be said for people a part of the marginalized ethnic groups. Meanwhile, Thailand’s approach is more targeted at federal and communal levels.
Work Cited
- Saunes, Ingrid S., et al. “Norway: health system summary.” European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/norway-health-system
- Tikkanen, Roosa, et al. “Norway | International Health Care System Profiles.” Commonwealth Fund
- Brochmann, Grete, and Anne Skevik Grødem. “Migration and welfare sustainability: The case of Norway.” Europe’s immigration challenge: Reconciling work, welfare, and mobility (2013): 59-76.
- Botten, Grete, Kari Tove Elvbakken, and Nanna Kildal. “The Norwegian welfare state on the threshold of a new century.” Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 31.2 (2003): 81-84.
- Matthew Clarke, Sardar M.N. Islam, Diminishing and negative welfare returns of economic growth: an index of sustainable economic welfare (ISEW) for Thailand, Ecological Economics
- “Thailand Overview: Development news, research, data.” World Bank, https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/thailand/overview#1
