SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Raising the standard of living of the population in the less developed countries is a subject of international interest. Rapidly increasing population and stagnation in the traditional sectors of the developing countries have prompted the idea that industrialization can be the panacea of poverty. Thus, over the past few decades, industrial development has been receiving a great deal of attention from the government of these countries as well as the developed countries and international agencies. However, the effectiveness of industrialization as a solution to the problems of employment and unfavourable terms of trade is still debatable. Thailand, a predominantly agricultural country with a high rate of population growth, is no exception to the general rule. The country has made some significant progress in industrialization since the beginning of the 1960s. Along with the building up of the basic infrastructure, various incentive measures were introduced to encourage industrial development. However, as old problems were solved, new ones have emerged. At the same time, there has been a growing realization that the process of industrialization is becoming more complex. As an example of a late-comer in industrialization, a detailed study of the case of Thailand could reveal some of the problems shared by other developing countries.