Thailand

The effects of immigration on the Thai economy are considerable, as the number of immigrants has increased rapidly since the turn of the century. Immigrant workers now contribute to all economic sectors, and are important for the workforce in industrial sectors such as construction and manufacturing and in some service sectors including private household services. Immigration is associated with an improvement of labour market outcomes of the native-born population, and in particular appears to increase paid employment opportunities. Immigration is also likely to raise income per capita in Thailand, due to the relatively high share of the immigrant population which is employed and therefore contributes to economic output. Policies aiming to further diversify employment opportunities for immigrant workers could also be beneficial for the economic contribution of immigration.  How Immigrants Contribute to Thailand’s Economy is the result of a project carried out by the OECD Development Centre and the International Labour Organization, with support from the European Union. The project aimed to analyse several economic impacts – on the labour market, economic growth and public finance – of immigration in ten partner countries: Argentina, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa and Thailand. The empirical evidence stems from a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses of secondary and in some cases primary data sources.

Thailand’s education system stands at a crossroads. Significant investment has widened access to education and the country performs relatively well in international assessments compared with its peers. But the benefits have not been universally distributed and Thailand has not received the return on its spending on education that it might have expected. This report encourages Thailand to focus on four priority areas to prepare students from all backgrounds for a fast-changing world. The first is to set clear, common standards for all students through a revised and improved curriculum. The second priority is to build capacity to reliably assess students across the full range of competencies needed for success in life and in learning. Third, Thailand needs to develop a holistic strategy to prepare teachers and school leaders to deliver education reform, including implementing the revised curriculum, and to tackle teaching shortages in the most deprived areas. The final challenge is to create a comprehensive information and communications technology strategy to equip all Thailand’s schools, teachers and students for the 21st century.

Thailand’s remarkable social and economic development since the 1970s has resulted in a steep and steadyincrease in energy consumption and, as a consequence, a rising dependency on imported fuels and associatedexposure to international commodity prices. Electricity demand is currently concentrated in the Bangkokmetropolitan area and driven by a large industrial and manufacturing base and significant amounts of tourism.But Thailand is a growing country with a large middle class, and a structural transition may change the natureand shape of electricity demand. Thai energy policy is driven by three pillars: security, affordability and environmental sustainability. Concernsabout fuel diversity underlie all three pillars and as a result are major factors in long-term plans for powergeneration. Thailand’s electricity sector is at a turning point similar to that of many International Energy Agency(IEA) member countries, as it transitions to low-carbon power sources. Thailand must decide how to financemassive investments in new generation assets, transmission and distribution networks, as well as the steps toimprove system operations and scale up energy efficiency. Partner Country Series – Thailand Electricity Security Assessment 2016 analyses the challenges the country faces,including how regulatory and market arrangements can adapt to best realise the opportunities from potentiallydisruptive distributed resources like wind and solar photovoltaics. This study draws on IEA member countries’experiences as well as Agency analysis to recommend policy improvements for a more secure and sustainableelectricity sector in Thailand.

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.