Session 12: Production and Trade/GVC
Moderator:
Jules Hugot



Failure to Upgrade? Thailand and the Middle-income Trap 

Slow growth in Thailand over the past two decades may suggest an inability to move up the value chain and produce more sophisticated goods and services. The paper considers broad changes in the complexity of manufactured goods produced and exported over the period 1996 to 2016. A more granular analysis focuses on trends in key product areas, including automobiles, electronics, household goods and rubber. This analysis of the structure of production shows significant upgrading in the first decade after the Asian financial crisis but a much slower process in the following decade. Uprading may be occurring at a pace that is insufficent for avoiding the middle-income trap.

Author/s:

Paul Vandenberg


JEL codes: L60, O14, O33