A huge majority of people want the Pheu Thai-led government to go ahead with the 10,000-baht digital wallet scheme as planned although some of them worry it could turn out to be damaging, according to an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.
to compile their opinion on the 10,000-baht digital wallet scheme.
Under the digital wallet scheme championed by the Pheu Thai Party, every Thai national who is 16 and older will receive a one-time payment of 10,000 baht, to be wired into their digital wallet for spending within six months on products and services in shops within a 4km radius of their residence.
About 100 prominent figures in the field of economics including university lecturers and former Bank of Thailand governors have come out to voice opposition to the scheme, saying it could cause damage to the country by stoking inflation and raising prices of goods, and would not stimulate the country's economy as hoped.
Asked whether they worried the scheme could do more harm than good to the country, a majority, 56.19%, agreed – 30.92% moderately and 25.27% strongly. On the other side, 28.47% said they were not worried at all and 15.19% were a little worried. The rest, 0.15%, had no answer or were not interested.
Asked whether they thought the scheme should be carried out as planned, 47.10% said "yes", but it should be adjusted to the present situation, while 32.52% said "yes", because it is a flagship policy highlighted by the Pheu Thai Party during the election campaign. On the other side, 18.85% said it should be cancelled. The rest, 1.53%, had no answer or were not interested.
Asked what they would do with the 10,000 baht wired into their digital wallet, 79.75% said they would accept it and spend it; 13.51% said they would not accept it; 5.42% said they would accept it but would not spend it; and 1.22% had no answer or were not interested.
Asked whether they thought the Pheu Thai Party's popularity would be affected if the scheme was scrapped, 60.00% said the party's popularity would decline; 29.92% said it would do no harm to the party's popularity; 6.49% said it would enhance the party's popularity; and 3.59% had no answer or were not interested.
The poll was conducted on Oct 9-11 by telephone interviews with 1,310 people aged 18 up of various levels of education, occupations and incomes throughout the country.
