Probing Thailand's middle-income escape plan
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Re: "Human resources at the core of 12th national development plan: PM", Business, September 15.
It is pleasing to hear that Thailand plans to climb from the middle-income trap towards high-income status within the next 10 years. However, I have questions about how we are to get to that point.
First, how will Thailand restructure its economy, and what will it be its drivers, to achieve the annual growth of 5 per cent called for in the development plan?
Second, East Asia’s high-income locales – Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, plus Singapore in our region – are all strong in the hi-tech, trading and services sectors. Which sector in Thailand can spearhead the leap to high-income status?
Third, while our agriculture is a key economic sector, can it provide a high value-added component and become truly competitive?
Fourth, how will we handle income inequality if the agricultural sector is not the spearhead that drives us forward to high-income status?
Fifth, what preparations are we making – especially in terms of building skilled human capital – in order to support transition to an economy of advanced innovation?
We can only hope that high-income status is realised soon – and is meaningful for everyone, not just the privileged few.
Sutipunt Bongsununt
