Rice mountain: assessment of the Thai rice pledging program

Abstract

The Thai Government introduced a generous price support program for paddy rice in 2011. The policy terminated in mid 2014 with the dismissalof the democratically elected Prime Minister, Ms Yingluck Shinawatra. There is an interest in understanding the welfare effects of the policy giventhe ongoing civil suit put against the former Prime Minister and the large stocks that remain. This study therefore analyses the welfare effects ofvarious Thai rice policy options using a 10-region, dynamic, stochastic, partial equilibrium model of world rice trade. It finds that while the Thaipolicy was effective in supporting the incomes of rice producers in the short run, the burden imposed on taxpayers and consumers seems difficultto justify. Show more