Multi-dimensional Review of Thailand - Vol. 1 - Initial Assessment

Thailand has made impressive progress over the past several decades, both in economic and social terms. Sustained strong growth and a rapidly modernising economy have turned Thailand into an upper middle-income country with a strong urban centre. Economic success has brought impressive social advancement. Poverty has plummeted, while education and health services have considerably expanded and improved. These achievements have brought Thailand to a new stage and a new set of challenges.

Rising prosperity has not been shared equally across the country and economic transformation needs a boost. The share of those in precarious employment still exceeds half of the working population. The creation of new activities replacing low-productivity ones has slowed while rural migrants and urban poor lack the skills required for modern urban jobs. While Bangkok’s success as a metropolis has been key to Thailand’s transformation, thriving secondary cities are needed that can develop new sources of growth.

Experience shows that development is not about getting everything right, but about getting right what matters most. The Initial Assessment of this Multi-Dimensional Review endeavours to identify the challenges and key constraints that must be overcome for Thailand to succeed. It offers recommendations related to informality, productivity and the management of natural resources, particularly water.

Press release: Economic and social progress has been remarkable but structural change is needed to create more quality jobs and overcome regional imbalances

Read the Executive Summary (also available in ภาษาไทย)

Multi-dimensional Review of Thailand - Vol. 2 - In-depth Analysis and Recommendations

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.

Press Release: Regional development, multi-level governance and water security are the keys to Thailand’s faster development

Multi-dimensional Review of Thailand - Vol. 3 - From Analysis to Action

Tailand is a fast emerging country that aspires to become a high-income economy by 2037. Strong growth has enabled the country to join the group of upper-middle-income economies in the early 2010s and to perform well in many areas. At the same time, the benefits of prosperity have not been shared evenly nationwide and the economic development has taken a toll on the environment. Moving forward, Thailand needs to master three transitions to build capabilities and sustain faster but also more inclusive economic growth: enabling further growth by unlocking the full potential of all Thailand’s regions; developing more effective methods of organisation and collaboration between actors and levels of government; managing water security and disaster risk. Based on the previous volume’s in-depth analysis and policy recommendations, this report suggests a set of actions to support these transitions. The actions focus on the North of Thailand, one of the most diverse and yet poorest regions of the country. 

Read the Executive summary \ full publication

Chapter 1. Synthesis of multi-dimensional analysis: New capabilities for Thailand

Chapter 2. Developing the potential of Thailand’s North: An action plan

Chapter 3. Towards better management of water security in Thailand’s Northern Region

Chapter 4. A scorecard to track sustainable development in the North