Thailand

Subnational governments in Asia and the Pacific are key providers of the public services and infrastructure required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Given this role, it is essential that policymakers and development partners understand and support the effective functioning of multi-level governance structures and subnational government finances across the region. This joint OECD-ADB report provides a comprehensive overview of subnational governments across Asia and the Pacific. It covers over 467,000 subnational governments from 26 countries, which represent 53% of the world’s population and 40% of global GDP. On average in 2020, subnational governments in the region accounted for 29% of total public expenditure (8.8% of GDP), 35% of total public revenue (8.5% of GDP) and 38% of public investment (2% of GDP). Harnessing unique data from the 3rd edition of the OECD-UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment, the analysis highlights how decentralisation and territorial reforms have reconfigured the structures and finances of subnational governments in the region. It covers a range of topics including fiscal rules, financial management capacity, priority-based budgeting, asset management and the use of public-private partnerships.

This report evaluates how to strengthen Thailand's SME and entrepreneurship policies to promote innovative entrepreneurship and SME innovation at regional level. This is critical in supporting a shift towards a more innovation-driven and regionally-balanced economy in Thailand. The report illustrates the needs by taking a specific policy case, namely activating new and small firms in the development of an innovation cluster in the advanced agriculture and biotechnology and food for the future sectors in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai regions in northern Thailand. The report examines policy options in four major areas affecting the cluster: strengthening the local entrepreneurship ecosystem for example in scale-up finance and entrepreneurial culture; upgrading business development services so they that the match the requirements of SME innovation; attracting foreign direct investment and brokering supply chain linkages with local SMEs; and creating a cluster management organisation to co-ordinate policy. The report makes policy recommendations illustrated by international inspiring policy practice examples in each area. It shares a vision for translating Thailand's new-found biotechnology research strengths into economic development by stimulating innovation absorption by SMEs and commercialisation by start-ups and scale-ups.

The COVID-19 crisis has had a profound impact on SME access to finance. In particular, the sudden drop in revenues created acute liquidity shortages, threatening the survival of many viable businesses. The report documents an increase in demand for bank lending in the first half of 2020, and a steady supply of credit thanks to government interventions. On the other hand, other sources of finance declined, in particular early-stage equity. This paper, a special edition of Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs, focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on SME access to finance, along with government policy responses. It reveals that the pre-crisis financing environment was broadly favourable for SMEs and entrepreneurs, who benefited from low interest rates, loose credit standards and an increasingly diverse offer of financing instruments. It documents the unprecedented scope and scale of the policy responses undertaken by governments world-wide, and details their key characteristics, and outlines the principal issues and policy challenges for the next phases of the pandemic, such as the over-indebtedness of SMEs and the need to continue to foster a diverse range of financing instruments for SMEs.

Thailand is a fast emerging country that aspires to become a high-income economy by 2037. Still, Thailand’s growth path has created large disparities that risk obstructing the next stage of development. This report lays out three transitions that Thailand needs to master to build capabilities and sustain faster but also more inclusive economic growth. First, the country should move from a growth path dominated by few and geographically concentrated sources of innovation to one that focuses on unlocking the full potential of all regions. Second, to support a new growth agenda, it should organise multi-level governance and the relationship between the many layers of government more effectively, particularly with regards to financial resources. Last but not least, Thailand should focus on water and environment, moving from a resource-intensive growth path with costly natural disasters to one characterised by sustainable development. In the case of water, this means moving from ad-hoc responses to effective management of water security.

Asian cities are particularly vulnerable to risks associated with natural disasters. While they are exposed to various types of natural hazards, flooding and other water-related disasters pose particularly significant risks and undermine long-term economic growth, especially in coastal cities. Managing such natural disaster risks is an essential component of urban policies in fast-growing Southeast Asian cities, especially as the impacts of climate change worsen. In addition to providing a framework for assessing disaster risk management policies in cities, this report also presents the results of assessment and locally tailored policy recommendations in five cities of different institutional, geographic, socio-economic and environmental contexts in Southeast Asia. They include Bandung (Indonesia), Bangkok (Thailand), Cebu (Philippines), Hai Phong (Viet Nam) and Iskandar (Malaysia). The study highlights that Southeast Asian cities are largely underprepared for natural disaster risks. Through an assessment of disaster risk management (DRM) policies at national and subnational levels, the study aims to enhance urban resilience by: i) identifying policy challenges related to DRM ; ii) assessing the impacts of current DRM policy practices; and iii) proposing more efficient and effective policy options to enhance urban resilience.

This publication is the first case study of the Urban Green Growth in Dynamic Asia project. The project explores how to promote green growth in fast-growing cities in Asia by examining policies and governance practices that encourage greening and competitiveness in a rapidly expanding economy. It is part of the OECD Green Growth Studies series, which will culminate in a synthesis report on Urban Green Growth in Dynamic Asia. This report analyses the economic and environmental performance and green growth policy practices of Thailand’s Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR). As a dynamic and emerging market economy, Thailand has recorded strong growth over recent decades and is expected to continue to do so, but this growth has come at a high environmental cost. The challenge is therefore to improve environmental outcomes while supporting continued growth in output and living standards. Thailand's government and BMA have taken steps to encourage green growth in the BMR, but much untapped potential remains, particularly in the following areas: land use and transport, renewable energy and energy efficiency in buildings, and water resources and solid waste management. Resilience to floods is also an urgent cross-cutting issue that requires further attention.

This book offers policy guidance to Thailand for fostering entrepreneurship and strengthening the performance of SMEs and their contribution to growth and development. It provides evidence-based analysis and policy recommendations on thematic issues such as access to finance for SMEs and entrepreneurs, SME participation in global markets, intellectual assets and innovation, high-growth SMEs and women’s entrepreneurship.