Impact of Thaksinomics

Impact of Thaksinomics

  • Submitted By: tonyhussey
  • Date Submitted: 01/14/2009 11:37 AM
  • Category: Business
  • Words: 8614
  • Page: 35
  • Views: 744

Thaksinomics & the impact of the the global economy on Thailand

"We must accept that the global economic landscape in the new millennium is much different than in preceding decades," said former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Thai economy has performed quite well in recent years prior to the current "global financial crisis". Prior to the Asian economic Crisis sparked by the collapse of the Thai Baht in 1997, Southeast Asia looked like it was destined for a period of sustained high growth. Ending the era of the "Asian Miracle", the crisis came as a surprise to many. While growth rates have remained positive prior to the meltdown of the US financial institutions, the region had not been able to sustain pre-crisis growth rates. The 01-02 recessions had a measurably negative effect on technology exports along with increasing competition with China for available FDI dollars.

The Bali terrorist attacks also had a negative impact due to its impact on tourism. The openness of these economies make them vulnerable to terrorist attacks.In general, Southeast Asian economies are quite open to foreign trade, however this also left the country vulnerable to economic and political shocks emanating from outside the country.

A portmanteau of "Thaksin" and "economics", Thaksinomics is a term used to refer to the economic set of policies of Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001-2006 which were notably different than previous economic policies employed in Thailand and represented a great hope to many for a robust economic future, particularly in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in the 90's.

These policies have made Thaksin Shinawatra popular. After an unprecedented four years as Prime Minister, his populist Thai Rak Thai party won a landslide victory in the February 2005 elections, winning 374 out of 500 seats in Parliament. This was the largest number of parliamentary seats ever gained by a single party in Thailand's...

Similar Essays