Is honesty valued today?: New evidence from Thailand

Abstract

Objectives: As a fundamental ethical principle, honesty plays a pivotal role in trust-building, social cohesion, and effective governance. This study examined how honesty was valued in Thailand, an upper middle-income Asian economy steeped in Buddhist values. It also explored the relationship between honesty and socioeconomic characteristics. Methods: Using primary data from 1230 Bangkok residents aged 18–75, collected through stratified multi-stage sampling, an instrument to measure honesty was developed and validated. Honesty was operationalized with three components: truthfulness, respect for ownership, and accountability. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Tobit regression analyses were performed. Results: Honesty was valued highly in Thai society. The average scores for accountability and respect for ownership were notably higher than for truthfulness. Socioeconomic characteristics, including gender, age, birth cohort, place of birth, religiosity, and self-rated economic status, were statistically associated with overall honesty and influenced the three components of honesty differently. The effects of age and birth cohorts were distinct. Younger birth cohorts were associated with a higher level of honesty. However, within each cohort, honesty increased with age. Conclusions: This study proposes recommendations aimed at promoting honesty in Thai society and provides ideas for future studies.