Economy

Thailand has benefitted from decades of rapid industrial development to become an upper middle-income economy, with GDP growth averaging more than 7% from the 1950s to the 1990s. However, more recent decades have been marked by an ongoing struggle to escape the middle-income trap. Growth sank in 2014 following a military coup, although political stability and solid macroeconomic fundamentals saw the country’s economic recovery continue in 2016, as GDP growth rose to a three-year high and export receipts increased for the first time since 2012. This chapter contains interviews with Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister; Porametee Vimolsiri, Secretary-General, National Economic and Social Development Board; and Yol Phokasub, President, Central Group.