{"id":110632,"date":"2025-10-09T07:39:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T07:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/110632\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T07:39:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T07:39:11","slug":"world-bank-urges-thailand-to-chart-new-course-to-escape-middle-income-trap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/110632\/","title":{"rendered":"World Bank urges Thailand to chart new course to escape middle-income trap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lg-webp.webp\" alt=\"Melinda Good, Country Director of the World Bank for Thailand and Myanmar\" class=\"img-fluid w-100 showcaption-true\" style=\"width: 1300px; height: 731px;\" width=\"1300\" height=\"731\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\n        <\/p>\n<p><strong>Escaping the trap requires a bet on a new economy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While the challenges may seem daunting, the World Bank executive views Thailand\u2019s situation with cautious optimism. She emphasises focusing on the facts: addressing weaknesses and reinforcing existing strengths.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The first step, according to Good, is for Thailand to \u201cstop holding itself back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Good suggests that Thailand should capitalise on its current strengths, such as its strategic position at the heart of ASEAN, its robust digital infrastructure, and the global reputation of Thai products, to expand into the five future industries:<\/p>\n<ul>&#13;<\/p>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Digital Services<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Advanced &amp; Green Manufacturing<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Agribusiness<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Sustainable and Health-Oriented Tourism<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Creative Economy<\/li>\n<p>&#13;\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, in order to drive this new economy forward, Thailand must begin by opening up the service sector and reducing barriers to competition, areas where Thailand still lags behind its neighbours.<\/p>\n<p>Good pointed out that Thailand\u2019s service sector remains more closed off than many other countries in the region, despite being one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world and ASEAN.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Opening up the service sector would not only attract foreign investment but also provide opportunities for new Thai entrepreneurs to compete in the digital innovation market.<\/p>\n<p>Comparing Thailand to Vietnam, Good observed that Vietnam has welcomed foreign direct investment (FDI) with a different approach, particularly by opening up its service sector. As a result, the value of trade in the service sector has increased by 2.9%, alongside similar growth in downstream manufacturing, achieving a double benefit from opening the service sector.<\/p>\n<p>Thailand can start with immediate, achievable actions or Quick Wins, such as simplifying the approval process for new technology businesses, promoting green finance systems, and strategically investing public funds in digital infrastructure, clean energy, and water systems. These actions would lay the groundwork for future data centres and digital industries.<\/p>\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759995551_667_lg-webp.webp\" alt=\"World Bank urges Thailand to chart new course to escape middle-income trap\" class=\"img-fluid w-100 showcaption-false\" style=\"width: 1300px; height: 731px;\" width=\"1300\" height=\"731\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\n        <\/p>\n<p><strong>Developing &#8216;human capital&#8217;: another key to success<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While Thailand boasts a universal healthcare system and globally lauded basic education, what is lacking is the \u201cskills of the workforce of the future,\u201d which is a critical component of the new economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Good stressed that development from this point forward should not focus on producing goods, but on creating opportunities for the new generation of workers in a rapidly changing technological landscape.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe economy of the future will not just be about producing goods anymore; it will be about producing opportunities for people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The World Bank executive reaffirmed that \u201chuman capital\u201d is the heart of long-term growth, especially for countries like Thailand, where the birth rate is declining.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The importance of reforming education and labour markets\u2014necessary to counter demographic pressures, enhance future economic potential, and create better jobs\u2014was emphasised in the Thailand Economic Monitor report of July 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen your population is growing slower than your neighbours, the only way to keep up is through smart investment in the children you have,\u201d Good added.<\/p>\n<p>Looking at Vietnam, Good highlighted that the country has adopted a model similar to China, aiming to become \u201cthe world\u2019s manufacturing hub.\u201d This has been achievable due to its large labour force and lower wages compared to Thailand.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, Thailand faces several limitations when it comes to investment and production, including labour constraints and rising costs. However, there are still opportunities if Thailand shifts its focus to investing in people for the future of the Thai economy.<\/p>\n<p>Thailand retains a competitive advantage in its robust digital infrastructure, including the Digital ID system, which could serve as the foundation for systematically enhancing the skills of the workforce.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Thailand excels in promoting \u201cinclusive growth\u201d\u2014not just economic growth. This has always been a strength, even if certain policies have had mixed results. The idea that growth should not leave anyone behind remains ingrained in the country\u2019s collective consciousness.<\/p>\n<p>In simple terms, Thailand must \u201cunlock potential in both people and regions,\u201d avoiding the concentration of opportunities solely in Bangkok.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Thailand still has vast untapped opportunities, and as the World Bank\u2019s Country Director for Thailand and Myanmar, Good has travelled to several regions to discuss sensible investments with both the government and private sector, aiming to decentralise the \u201ccentres of education and growth\u201d to multiple locations.<\/p>\n<p>This may be an opportunity for the new government to leverage the political shift and the upcoming election in 2025 to push forward new policies with a broader vision. Because now is a time of opportunity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Proposing &#8216;Quick Wins&#8217; to attract foreign investment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Regarding \u201cQuick Wins\u201d that can deliver rapid results, Good stated that Thailand must \u201cstop stopping itself,\u201d which is hindering the arrival of \u201cinnovative entrepreneurs,\u201d both local and foreign.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Opening up the growing service sector doesn\u2019t require significant investment; it requires a decision to take action. Many companies are eager to enter Thailand, drawn by its stability\u2014both economically and politically\u2014compared to other countries in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Another key aspect is improving the ease of doing business to make it easier to start a business, attracting high-value jobs and new technologies to Thailand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Currently, \u201cthere are too many obstacles.\u201d Many companies have come close to investing in Thailand but ultimately chose to invest in neighbouring countries instead, due to cumbersome processes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite the country\u2019s many strengths, if the government can reduce legal obstacles and streamline the process for tech businesses, it would be a \u201cQuick Fix that can truly change the game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This would require no major financial investment and could help establish Thailand as the \u201cdigital hub of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Escaping the trap requires a bet on a new economy While the challenges may seem daunting, the World&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[79,179,18,19,68821,17,391,13180],"class_list":{"0":"post-110632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-income-trap","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-thailand","15":"tag-world-bank"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}