The Half-Half Scheme has come back with new avatars as Phase 2 in 2025, named Khon La Khrueng Plus, with a budget of 44 billion baht to revive consumer spending and improve small businesses. With this stimulus, the government pays half the price of all normal purchases – including daily goods and meals – and makes the lives of the people cheaper, and increases domestic demand. The observers think that this new version of the Half Half Scheme might boost local economies, increase the number of small-business activities, and provide an example of how such schemes can be followed in other countries that need a quick boost to the economy. This impact also aligns with the rising trends seen in Thailand’s Most Popular Part-Time Jobs, showing how supportive policies can strengthen grassroots income opportunities.
Structure of Half-Half Scheme Phase 2
How it operates: Half-Half Scheme Phase 2 will see registered persons paying half the purchase value whilst the state funds the remaining half, through a digital wallet system (buyer and merchant apps).
The beneficiaries: The scheme applies to 20 million people, eligible citizens (registered or not) and small retailers and businesses (including shops registered under corporations), for the first time.
Subsidy information: The registered persons under tax will be given 2,400 baht altogether, and non-tax payers will be given 2,000 baht. The maximum amount of the purchases capped by the subsidies is 200 baht per day per person.
Timeline: Registration will begin in October 2025; benefits will be used between 29 October and 31 December 2025. The scheme began on 7 November with food delivery services.
Expanded coverage: Weak demand hits are to be covered by small and micro-enterprises, which the company provides a lifeline to before the end-of-year slowdowns.
This growth is meant to trigger off immediate spending, boost the small-business segment, and enable the Thai economy to end the year on a stronger footing.
Global Lessons: What Other Economies Can Learn
1. Co-payment is an increase in rapid consumption
The Half-Half Scheme is a rapid injection of liquidity in the economy since it subsidizes one-half of all daily expenditures. In nations with slow domestic demand, equivalent ad hoc co-payment programmes can jumpstart spending – particularly among the middle- and low-income families.
2. Favoring small businesses and MSMEs
By the incorporation of small businesses and even corporate-registered retailers, the benefit base is broadened. This is a way of assisting local traders and micro enterprises who tend to be the worst hit during economic downturns. This can be emulated by other economies to stabilize their grassroots businesses.
3. Online openness and engagement
The administration of subsidies by digital wallets and apps enhances transparency, lessens leakage, and directs the support to the end-users and the sellers. With the increasing penetration of fintech in countries, they can use such tools to implement stimulus effectively.
4. Stimulus without cash transfer- stimulating actual economic activity
This scheme is not just a grant; the subsidy is pegged on actual consumption. That would push beneficiaries to expend on services and goods, and boost retail, services, and small-business industries – far more sustainable than a one-time cash handout.
5. Able to change scope according to needs
The scheme is flexible by changing the daily spending limits, eligibility, and the rate of the subsidy. The usefulness of rolling out such co-payment programs can be considered by other nations when it is required, say in a slow economic time, recovery period, or to promote social welfare objectives.
The Half-Half Scheme Phase 2 shows that the right strategy of government co-payment subsidies, when properly designed and digitally delivered, provides an immediate boost to consumption and promotes the interests of small businesses, as well as brings resilience to local economies. Its combination of inclusivity and fiscal stimulus could be of importance as a guide to other economies around the world to find short-term recovery mechanisms with long-term consequences.
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