Thailand is a society in political, economic and social transition. Change is happening to varying degrees-at the national level and at the regional level where there are contrasting issues. Changes are positive, some are negative. This book looks at the various aspects of change as it impacts on business and the lives of the people.
"Thailand is one of the most successful developing countries. After decades of rapid growth, the economy rebounded quickly from the 1997-98 Asian crisis and is set to continue its expansion into the future. Nevertheless, there are doubts about the resilience of the Thai economy. The country appears to be on a lower growth projectory now than before the crisis. What growth can Thailand realistically expect? And what can the government do to sustain such growth into the future? Using a new methodology for identifying binding constraints to growth (Rodrik 2004 and Hausmann and others 2005), the author argues that Thailand's challenge is to maintain growth levels of 4 to 5 percent over the medium term. To achieve this goal, Thailand needs to continue its efforts of improving business infrastructure, trade integration, and skills, as well as intensifying its governance reforms."--World Bank web site.
Thailand Beyond the Crisis includes recent research to give an accurate and up to date picture of the status of Thailand's economic recovery. The Asian economic crisis began in Thailand and ended a decade of sustained economic boom. This book identifies the role of policy errors involving both the Thai government and the IMF that lead to the crash of the fastest growing economy in the world. Warr addresses the consequences of the crisis, including sharply increased poverty incidence and a backlog of non- performing loans which clogged the banking system, delaying recovery. Key content includes: * the Social Consequences of the crisis, and alternatives * public sector reform * implications of a floating exchange rate * education * urbanisation and the environment.
Provides a brief discussion of the adjustment to the crisis in Thailand and the key measures followed as part of the IMF program. Evaluates the overall strategy of the IMF program and gives some suggestions.
Thailand is one of the most successful developing countries. After decades of rapid growth, the economy rebounded quickly from the 1997-98 Asian crisis and is set to continue its expansion into the future. Nevertheless, there are doubts about the resilience of the Thai economy. The country appears to be on a lower growth projectory now than before the crisis. What growth can Thailand realistically expect? And what can the government do to sustain such growth into the future? Using a new methodology for identifying binding constraints to growth (Rodrik 2004 and Hausmann and others 2005), the author argues that Thailand's challenge is to maintain growth levels of 4 to 5 percent over the medium term. To achieve this goal, Thailand needs to continue its efforts of improving business infrastructure, trade integration, and skills, as well as intensifying its governance reforms.
Successive waves of COVID-19 disrupted the Thai economy in the first half of 2021, but their impact was mitigated by recovering global demand and substantial fiscal support. After a second wave of COVID-19 infections began in late 2020, the government strengthened public health and social distancing measures to contain the renewed spread of the virus. The shock of the second wave caused the economy to contract by -2.6 percent, year-on-year (yoy), in Q1 2021, following a 6.1 percent drop in GDP in 2020 which was one of the steepest contractions among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states. While private investment and manufacturing production recovered to near pre-COVID levels in the first quarter of 2021, weakness in the services and agricultural sector persisted. A third wave of infections that emerged in April 2021 has proven especially severe, and the number of cases surged to over 3,000 per day in May-June 2021. Strict containment measures have reduced mobility and negatively affected consumption and business sentiment. Activity in the tourism sector has remained negligible, and the outlook is clouded by the ongoing impact of COVID-19 across the region, the emergence of new variants, and slow progress on vaccination. However, rebounding goods exports have provided substantial support to the Thai economy, driven by recovering global demand for automotive parts, electronics, machinery, and agricultural products. Cash transfers, public health initiatives, economic recovery programs and other forms of fiscal support have helped shore up private demand while supporting consumption among vulnerable households and attenuating the impact of the crisis on poverty. Going forward, government will need to invest in strengthening the social protection system. Prior to the pandemic social assistance benefits were not very generous and often inadequate to protect the poor. The largest social assistance programs were categorically targeted, and only recently is poverty targeting becoming more prominent. In the years to come it should be a priority to ensure that vulnerable beneficiaries receive adequate support and given the limited fiscal space would also require significant investments in effective targeting. The crisis also further underscores the need to ensure that the social protection system covers the large informal sector in Thailand at all times, not only during crises.
This volume looks at the origins and consequences of the accelerated growth of the Thai economy since the mid-1980s, and explores the factors that set Thailand apart from other Asian, African and Latin American countries.
