Supavud Saicheua on Thailand's long-term economic strategy
By Jon Fernquest
Following in the footsteps of successful Asia countries
such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and China,
Thailand has long followed a strategy of export-driven
economic growth.As Thai economist Supavud Saicheua observes, Thailand "opened the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in 1980 - used the gas there as cheap power, used the port there to sell stuff and invited the Japanese multinationals to use Thailand as a production base."
Thailand has fully developed "downstream" industries such as automobile and automobile parts manufacturing, but problems associated with developing upstream industries such as petrochemicals, steel and power generation have yet to be adequately worked out.
The court ordered closure of industrial projects Map Ta Phut industrial estate because of the pollution they created is the most visible example of this.
Today's article below is an extract that describes Thailand's export-driven economic growth strategy. For the full article with Mr. Supavud's opinions on democracy please read here.
A proactive industrial policy with government intervention might be a good option for Thailand. Advocates of this approach include economists Dani Rodrik and Ha-Joon Chang.
Without better developed political institutions this approach might not succeed (Read a previous article by Danny Unger and Patcharee Siroros).
Today's article begins after the vocabulary.
following in the footsteps - imitating
or doing what others who were successful before you did in order to
succeed
strategy - a plan to achieve long term goals ('strategy' gives the big picture, 'tactics' the details)
economic growth - (See Wikipedia) and Paul Romer of Stanford's description)
export-driven economic growth - economic growth caused by development of a country's export industry
Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate - one of Thailand's largest industrial estates located in Rayong (See interactive map)
industrial park, industrial estate - a special area especially for factories with special facilities (roads, transportation, water, electricity, waste disposal) (See Wikipedia)
power - electricity produced in large quantities and used to operate lights, machines, and heating
port - an area of water where ships stop, including the buildings around it ท่าเรือ
base - a place from where an activity or project can be planned and carried ฐานที่มั่น
downstream - at an late stage in the process of producing a product for sale (late in the supply chain)
upstream - at an early stage in the process of producing a product for sale (early in the supply chain)
petrochemicals - chemicals made from oil or natural gas สินค้าหรือผลิตภัณฑ์ปิโตรเคมี
production base - a place used by a company to manufacture and produce goods for other places, regional manufacturing center
work out a problem - solve a problem
proactive - starting to think about possible problems in some project and start solving them even before they happen
industrial policy - government policies to promote certain industries that can help the country develop (See Wikipedia)
intervention - getting involved in an activity that is not usually your responsibility
advocates - people who agree with and promote certain ideas
strategy - a plan to achieve long term goals ('strategy' gives the big picture, 'tactics' the details)
economic growth - (See Wikipedia) and Paul Romer of Stanford's description)
export-driven economic growth - economic growth caused by development of a country's export industry
Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate - one of Thailand's largest industrial estates located in Rayong (See interactive map)
industrial park, industrial estate - a special area especially for factories with special facilities (roads, transportation, water, electricity, waste disposal) (See Wikipedia)
power - electricity produced in large quantities and used to operate lights, machines, and heating
port - an area of water where ships stop, including the buildings around it ท่าเรือ
base - a place from where an activity or project can be planned and carried ฐานที่มั่น
downstream - at an late stage in the process of producing a product for sale (late in the supply chain)
upstream - at an early stage in the process of producing a product for sale (early in the supply chain)
petrochemicals - chemicals made from oil or natural gas สินค้าหรือผลิตภัณฑ์ปิโตรเคมี
production base - a place used by a company to manufacture and produce goods for other places, regional manufacturing center
work out a problem - solve a problem
proactive - starting to think about possible problems in some project and start solving them even before they happen
industrial policy - government policies to promote certain industries that can help the country develop (See Wikipedia)
intervention - getting involved in an activity that is not usually your responsibility
advocates - people who agree with and promote certain ideas
Investigative Report
Let the voters sort things out
29/08/2010Nina Suebsukcharoen
...Mr Supavud said that although the latest data on tourism show improvement, the Thai economy is still mainly export-driven.
Is that sustainable? If you want to sustain it then you must know what you are getting yourself into. If you look at Thailand's economic growth strategy you would have to argue that it has mainly been manufacturing and export-driven, and to do that we basically opened the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in 1980 - used the gas there as cheap power, used the port there to sell stuff and invited the Japanese multinationals to use Thailand as a production base.
investigation
(noun) - the process of trying to find out all the
details or facts about something in order to discover who or what
caused it or how it happened การตรวจสอบหาข้อเท็จจริง
investigative (adjective)
sort things out - being order to a complicated situation, solve a complicated problem
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
improvement - when something gets better or when you make it better การปรับปรุง, การทำให้ดีขึ้น
sustainable - able to be successfully continued for a long time ยั่งยืน, ถาวร
sustain (verb) - keep something going for a long time
what you are getting yourself into - the difficult situation you face, when you agree to do something
investigative (adjective)
sort things out - being order to a complicated situation, solve a complicated problem
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
improvement - when something gets better or when you make it better การปรับปรุง, การทำให้ดีขึ้น
sustainable - able to be successfully continued for a long time ยั่งยืน, ถาวร
sustain (verb) - keep something going for a long time
what you are getting yourself into - the difficult situation you face, when you agree to do something
That in a nutshell is Thailand's economic strategy. We have cemented that model with the signing of the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement.
Now we have come to the point where we have fully developed what are called downstream industries - we have automobile production, auto parts production. We need to back this up with upstream industries - petrochemicals, steel, power. But we are having problems developing upstream industries, as is seen with the Map Ta Phut issue.
in a nutshell - summarizing,
describing a complicated thing in simple terms
cemented - made strong
Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEP) - name of the free trade agreement between Thailand and Japan (See Wikipedia)
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) - an agreement between two or more countries to reduce tariffs and other "barriers to trade" over time
issue - a problem that needs to be considered, discussed, debated and solved ประเด็น
cemented - made strong
Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEP) - name of the free trade agreement between Thailand and Japan (See Wikipedia)
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) - an agreement between two or more countries to reduce tariffs and other "barriers to trade" over time
issue - a problem that needs to be considered, discussed, debated and solved ประเด็น
So if Thailand wants to continue pursuing this path of being a manufacturing production base for Japan, then we must accept that we have to develop the basic upstream industries as well. And we must resolve this concern about pollution and health in a way that does not become an obstacle to the development of basic industries.
Mr Supavud said that China has both upstream and downstream industries but Malaysia does not because it has not really pursued this strategy. Malaysia exports palm oil and electronic parts. It may have wanted to develop an auto industry and export cars the way Thailand does, but it has not been as successful in this area.
Mr Supavud noted that Singapore also has a different model than Thailand, as it is a trading port and a major financial service centre and is also focusing on high-end health care and scientific research. He said that both Indonesia and Vietnam are in a position to compete with Thailand.
resolve
- to solve a problem, or to find a satisfactory way of dealing with it
แก้ไขปัญหา, หาทางแก้ปัญหา
concern - a worry ความกังวล
obstacle - a difficulty or problem that prevents you from achieving something อุปสรรค ขวากหนาม สิ่งกีดขวาง
development - the gradual growth and formation of something
trading port - a place where ships ship large quantities of goods into and out of, as part of the buying and selling of goods
financial service centre - a central place where many banks are located, from which many loans are issued
high-end - of high quality and expense
concern - a worry ความกังวล
obstacle - a difficulty or problem that prevents you from achieving something อุปสรรค ขวากหนาม สิ่งกีดขวาง
development - the gradual growth and formation of something
trading port - a place where ships ship large quantities of goods into and out of, as part of the buying and selling of goods
financial service centre - a central place where many banks are located, from which many loans are issued
high-end - of high quality and expense
(Source: Bangkok Post, Investigative Report, Let the voters sort things out, 29/08/2010, Nina Suebsukcharoen, link)
