Regional Economic Integration and its Impacts on Growth, Poverty and Income Distribution: The Case of Thailand

, Discussion Paper No. 147, Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University, Japan, September 2006, by Chaiwoot Chaipan, Tien Dung Nguyen, and Mitsuo Ezaki

A discussion paper from the Graduate School of International Development at Nagoya University in Japan. Note also for international students, such as students from Thailand, there appears to be a competitive examination for scholarships.

Abstract: "Along with the regional frameworks, Thailand has made serious efforts to establish Economic Partnership Agreements, including Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), with several countries: China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the US. The aim of this paper is to discuss a policy simulation analysis on the economic impacts on Thailand's economy of free trade agreements using a Global Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model. Suffice it to say that the FTA strategy and the formation of Free Trade Areas in East Asia would stimulate growth and investment, and improve welfare for Thailand. However, the impacts on income distribution vary with the integration scenarios, depending on the pattern of production and trade and the extent of trade liberalization in Thailand's FTA partners. The simulation results show that Thailand would gain most from the FTA with Japan both in terms of welfare and improved income distribution; and that Thailand could realize most of the potential gain from free trade by promoting the process of regional integration in East Asia."

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Table of Contents

1. Pattern of Thailand's Trade Policy
2. A Thailand-Japan FTA
3. Regional Integration in East Asia
4. Situation of Poverty and Income Distribution
5. Model Specification
6. Simulation analysis
7. Concluding remarks