The relationships between socio-economic background and youth not in education, employment, or training in a developing country context: a case study of Thailand

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between young people aged 15 to 24 who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) and socio-economic background in Thailand. Using a linear probability model with 16,329 samples with data from 2007 Socio-Economic Survey of Thailand and 12,813 samples with data from the 2017 Socio-Economic Survey of Thailand, I find that the results are sensitive to the definition of NEET used. For NEET status that includes unpaid family workers, I find that in both 2007 and 2017 data, compared to the lowest income group, individuals from household with higher average monthly income per capita are less likely to be NEET. People with more years of education are less likely to be NEET, but this trend reverses with higher education. However, for NEET status that excludes unpaid family workers, there are no differences across income groups and gender, and people with more education are less likely to be NEET, but the opposite is true for those with a university degree. Both male and female from North and Northeast region are less likely to be NEET compared to Bangkok when unpaid family workers exclude from NEET. Many people who might be classified as NEET in other country context are actually economically active in the informal economy in the Thai context.