AGRICULTURAL BASED TO MANUFACTURING ORIENTED GROWTH: IN THE CASE OF THAILAND

Abstract

In Thailand, agriculture has been the foundation for the rapid development of many industries, in the form of the raw materials, intermediate goods, and domestic food. Many industries in Thailand have to rely on the agricultural sector as a supplier of some important raw material. Also, most manufacturing workers are from rural areas and many of these workers work in manufacturing when it is not the harvest period. By the nature of the prevailing medium-sized industries and labor-intensive industries, many manufacturing firms are still dependent on the agricultural sector. Nevertheless, the policy over the past decades in Thailand has been to promote the manufacturing sector and lessen the importance of the agricultural sector.  One might question why the government decided to do so? And what have we learned from Thailand’s experience? As well, what did the data present some learning experience during Thailand major financial crisis?

Such understandings of the phenomenon of this case study developing from the real experience of the Thai economy are beneficial for studying the changes of Thailand’s development and competitiveness position in the World market, the changes of Thailand’s agricultural and manufacturing proportions, and policies manipulation.   Some aspects are also worth discussing, leave for analysts to brainstorm in class like basic understandings to how each economic sector has been affected, like agricultural, manufacturing, services sectors, in terms of firms, producers, and consumers. As well, some discussions are about economic stability aspects.