CHIANG MAI UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS

Factors Affecting the Labor Force Participation and Working Hours of Thai Workers under the COVID-19 Situation

Anyarat Wichian, Apiradee Netirangsriwatchara — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The purpose of this research was to study factors affecting work participation and working hours of 3 types of Thai workers such as formal workers, informal workers, and unemployed workers, under the COVID-19 situation. This is done by using secondary data from the National Statistical Office (NSO) of B.E. 2019. The data was analyzed with a Polychotomous Choice Selectivity Model, and estimate coefficient by maximum likelihood estimation. The research findings showed that the most of factors affecting work participation in COVID-19 situation will be the same as in normal situations, including factors such as education level, marital status, and head of household. However, there are some factors that affect it differently from the normal situation. For example, female workers will have more opportunities to participate in the labor force than males, elderly workers will have more opportunities to join the labor force, workers with more household members are more likely to lose their jobs, and workers living outside the municipality will have more opportunities to enter the informal sector. In addition, it was also found that age, education level, and the area of residence affected the number of working hours during the COVID-19 situation.

THE ROLE OF FIRM-GENERATED CONTENT (FGC) AND USER-GENERATED CONTENT (UGC) IN SHAPING INTENTION TO USE TELEHEALTH SERVICES

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The study evaluates the influence of Firm Generated Content (FGC) and User Generated
Content (UGC) on the intention to use telehealth services among Vietnamese citizens, with a
sample of 751 individuals from three direct-controlled municipalities in Vietnam (Hanoi, Da
Nang, Ho Chi Minh City). The results indicate that FGC positively affects UGC and
Information Adoption, although the relationship between FGC and Information Adoption is
considered weak. UGC is found to positively impact Information Adoption and Intention to
use telehealth services. Similarly, Information Quality also positively affects Health
Consciousness and Intention. Health Consciousness is identified as positively affecting
Attitude. Finally, both Attitude and Subjective Norms are demonstrated to positively influence
Intention. This study further reinforces previous research on the impact of FGC and UGC on
consumer intentions, specifically applied in the healthcare field. Based on the findings, the
authors propose several recommendations for the application of FGC and UGC in telehealth
services offered by hospitals and healthcare facilities; at the same time, some
recommendations are made for citizens.

The impact of the BTS Skytrain services on the Gross Provincial Products in Bangkok's tourism industry

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0700

This study aimed to measure the impact of BTS Skytrain services on Gross Provincial Products
(GPP) in Bangkok’s tourism industry. This study used secondary data from 2001–2023. The
dependent variable was the GPP in Bangkok’s tourism industry, especially in the accommodation
and food service sectors. It was hypothesized that the number of workers in Bangkok's
accommodation and food service sectors, the amount of capital stock in Bangkok's accommodation
and food service sectors, and the number of tourists using the BTS service would impact the tourism
industry in Bangkok. The impact was estimated by the ordinary least squares (OLS) method.
The study found that the amount of capital stock and the number of tourists using the BTS service
were major factors in raising the GPP in Bangkok’s tourism industry at a 95% significant level. It
implies that in expanding the growth of Bangkok's tourism industry, Policymakers should be aware
of the importance of two factors. The first factor is the amount of capital stock, that is, they should
focus on increasing capital in Bangkok's tourism industry. The second factor is that the BTS Skytrain
should be able to accommodate a large number of passengers, including tourists.

The relationship between English proficiency and employability of university graduates

Mattana Wongsirikajorn, Natthika Sonjit — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The purpose of this study is to estimate the additional value of English proficiency to the
opportunity in getting a job of graduates. The data used for this study comes from survey
data. The target population of this study is Chiang Mai University graduate. Simple random
sampling is the method we implement in data collecting. We then rely on online
questionnaires as a tool for collecting data, which take place between December 2023 to
February 2024. Among 150 samples, we demonstrate descriptive statistics in demographic,
socio-economic, language skill, and attitudinal data. For inferential statistics, we estimated
values by using Simple Linear Regression with Ordinary Least Squares (OLS). This method
allows us to estimate the effect of English proficiency, which is indicated from TOEIC
scores, toward the opportunity in getting a job, which is indicated from time spent in
searching for a job. The results from regression analysis point out that an individual will
spend about 4.93 weeks less searching for a job if they gain an additional 100 TOEIC scores,
statistically significant at 0.01 level. The results confirm that English proficiency generate
positive effect to the opportunity in getting a job, leading to national policy in educational
development that emphasizes on English skill improvement of Thai students.