Thailand’s Decentralization: Progress and Prospects

Over the past decade, various means of decentralizing authority and responsibility to local governments have been discussed. It was broadly recognized that local government capacity would need to be strengthened considerably if the central government were to lessen its role in the intergovernmental fiscal system. Most Thai local governments have limited capacity for financial management, planning and service delivery, and generally lack adequate resources to deliver services effectively or to provide needed investments. While many proposals had been put forth, the Government’s decentralization agenda did not gain momentum until the new Constitution was passed in 1997.