ABSTRACT
From the days of the East Asian Miracle, industrial promotion in Thailand, similar to that in Indonesia, has been considered to be market-driven with minimal direct government intervention, as opposed to the widely-known and well-studied models of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In reality, however, direct and indirect attempts have been made by the state to promote industrial growth and development. This chapter introduces the history, issues, and initiatives of industrial promotion in the Kingdom of Thailand. The chapter introduces: (1) the mix of direct and indirect interventions, modalities utilized, and the recent Thailand 4.0 reform; (2) the role of the US, of Chinese immigrants, and of Japan; and (3) the role of public-private-partnerships (PPPs). Overall, this chapter provides the contexts for further discussion on whether industrial policies should be intentionally developed or occur spontaneously when opportunities arise in the constantly changing global economic environment.
