ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the development of the Thai economy from c. 1980 through to the mid-1990s. This was a period of dramatic change and development for the Kingdom. At the close of the 1970s, as was outlined at the end of Chapter 3, Thailand was experiencing serious economic problems and signs of increasing political and economic instability. During 1979-80 these problems developed into a major crisis. However, during the early 1980s the rapid re-establishment of political and economic stability, together with changed international and regional circumstances, laid the basis for a period of unprecedented rapid growth of GDP. This was accompanied by rapid internationalisation of the economy and a sharp change in the composition of exports away from primary products and towards manufactured goods. As was noted in Chapter 1 these developments have been widely depicted as heralding the emergence of Thailand as a NIE. It is the purpose of this chapter to outline and explain the changes that Thailand has experienced during the period up to the mid-199s. The broader questions of the sustainability of the growth and structural change are touched on, but are explored more fully in Chapter 8.
