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9 Jun 2026

Thai Economy

Recurring haze and losses: Thailand’s PM2.5 problem reframed (Current Issue No.3645)

คะแนนเฉลี่ย
  • PM2.5 pollution is no longer only a seasonal public health crisis; it has become a chronic structural burden, creating opportunity losses of more than THB 5 billion during 2014–2018, based solely on its measurable impacts on tourism and household defensive spending.
  • The persistent PM2.5 problem reflects three structural issues: pricing mechanisms (polluters do not bear the downstream costs), capacity (small farmers lack the capital needed to adopt alternative practices), and resource allocation (96.2 percent of PM2.5-related budget goes to central government agencies).
  • Present policies are effective primarily in dealing with pollution sources that are readily identifiable and manageable within administrative frameworks, such as agricultural burning. However, policies must shift to address less visible and more complex pollution sources, including forest fires, local fire ecosystems, and transboundary haze.

Thai Economy

ESG