Facilitating Trade and Structural Adjustment Thailand Experiences in Non-Member Economies

This paper is the fourth of four country case studies which is a part of a broader research programme addressing trade and structural adjustment issues in non-member economies which was conducted as a follow-up to Trade and Structural Adjustment: Embracing Globalisation (OECD, 2005) which identified...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Tangkitvanich, Somkiat
Other Authors: Onodera, Osamu
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Paris OECD Publishing 2008
Series:OECD Trade Policy Papers
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: OECD Books and Papers - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
LEADER 02620nma a2200265 u 4500
001 EB001830977
003 EBX01000000000000000997423
005 00000000000000.0
007 cr|||||||||||||||||||||
008 180616 ||| eng
100 1 |a Tangkitvanich, Somkiat 
245 0 0 |a Facilitating Trade and Structural Adjustment Thailand  |h Elektronische Ressource  |b Experiences in Non-Member Economies  |c Somkiat, Tangkitvanich and Osamu, Onodera 
246 2 1 |a Faciliter les échanges et l'ajustement structurel Thaïlande : l'expérience de pays non membres 
260 |a Paris  |b OECD Publishing  |c 2008 
300 |a 42 p.  |c 21 x 29.7cm 
653 |a Thailand 
653 |a Trade 
700 1 |a Onodera, Osamu 
041 0 7 |a eng  |2 ISO 639-2 
989 |b OECD  |a OECD Books and Papers 
490 0 |a OECD Trade Policy Papers 
028 5 0 |a 10.1787/244406140524 
856 4 0 |a oecd-ilibrary.org  |u https://doi.org/10.1787/244406140524  |x Verlag  |3 Volltext 
082 0 |a 380 
520 |a This paper is the fourth of four country case studies which is a part of a broader research programme addressing trade and structural adjustment issues in non-member economies which was conducted as a follow-up to Trade and Structural Adjustment: Embracing Globalisation (OECD, 2005) which identified policies for successful trade-related structural adjustment. This paper studies the trade liberalisation experience of Thailand from the 1970s. The report consists of 6 main sections; Section 1 provides the introduction, while section 2 provides an overview of Thailand's growth experiences. Section 3 takes a closer look at the trade liberalisation and investment policies in Thailand: Thailand's initial trade regime and three phases of trade liberalisation: (1) initial tariff reforms (1982-84), (2) comprehensive tariff reform and its reversal with the Asian financial crisis (1993-), and (3) post crisis reforms (1999-) are studied. Section 4 looks at the changes in the investment and trade structure, while section 5 takes a closer look at structural adjustment in three sectors, the automotive and auto-parts sector, textile and clothing, and the telecom services sector. Section 6 concludes with lessons learnt. Thailand's experience confirms that a sound macroeconomic environment, sustainable public finances, a relatively stable political and economic environment, flexible labour markets and reliable infrastructure are crucial for economic growth. It provides an example of gradual trade liberalisation, and demonstrates the benefits of openness to international trade and foreign investment in correcting distortions in the economy