Thailand
The Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India is a regular publication on regional economic growth, development and regional integration in Emerging Asia. It focuses on the economic conditions of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. It also addresses relevant economic issues in China and India to fully reflect economic developments in the region.The Outlook provides an update of macroeconomic trends and challenges, country-specific structural policy notes and a thematic focus which varies in each volume. The Update of the Outlook has been published since 2018, following the Special Supplements of 2016 and 2017 editions, to ensure that the projections, data and analysis remain current and useful.
Countries in Asia and the Pacific face a heightened risk of flooding as disasters increase worldwide due to climate change. Yet these countries often lack the infrastructure necessary to prepare for and respond to floods effectively. When flood protection measures exist, they generally rely only on grey, hard-engineered infrastructure, which has been increasingly challenged in recent years. Nature-based solutions (NbS) offer a new approach for flood management, with several co-benefits beyond the reduction of risks. This approach has gained recognition from policy makers in the region, but they are confronted with a number of challenges, including the lack of a clear, common definition and guidelines, as well as financing issues. The growing imperatives of climate adaptation call for complementary, innovative and forward-looking solutions, such as a combined approach incorporating both NbS and grey infrastructure.
What are the structural barriers to women's empowerment and inclusive development in Southeast Asia? Building on data from the fifth edition of the SIGI, the SIGI 2024 Regional Report for Southeast Asia: Time to Care provides new evidence-based analysis on the progress and setbacks in eliminating the root causes of gender inequality in 11 countries of the region. It underscores how multiple personal status laws perpetuate gender-based legal discrimination. The analysis also shows that social norms governing gender roles and responsibilities worsened between 2014 and 2022, particularly affecting women’s educational and economic rights.
The report explores a critical policy area for the region, the care economy. Stressing the gendered, informal, and unpaid dimensions of care, it draws on social, demographic, educational and economic evidence to forecast a growing demand for care services in Southeast Asian countries. The report advocates for the strategic development of formal care systems as a unique opportunity to accelerate women's economic empowerment, build inclusive societies and strengthen the region's resilience to external shocks – including those induced by climate change. To dismantle the barriers that prevent the emergence and expansion of such a formal care economy, it provides concrete recommendations to policy makers and other stakeholders.
Over 100 million workers in Southeast Asia have jobs that are directly or closely linked to the environment, making them vulnerable to climate change impacts. These same workers likely earn at least 20% lower than the national average and are largely in informal employment. The region’s necessary transition towards greener growth could affect them in several ways: some sectors will create jobs and others will lose jobs or disappear altogether. Understanding the effects of both climate change and green growth policies on jobs and people is thus essential for making the transition in Southeast Asia an inclusive one. The study explores these issues, with emphasis on the potential effects on labour of an energy transition in Indonesia, and of a transition in the region’s agricultural sector, illustrated by a simulated conversion from conventional to organic rice farming.
This report assesses the current state of connectivity in Southeast Asia and provides tailored recommendations for extending broadband access, focusing on five countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. The analysis builds upon the OECD Recommendation on Broadband Connectivity, which provides a reference for policy makers and regulatory authorities within and outside of the OECD. Using the principles of the Recommendation as a roadmap, countries may be better able to unleash the full potential of connectivity for the digital transformation and to ensure equal access to connectivity for all users.
Thailand has achieved remarkable economic progress over the past decades. A strong and timely policy response helped to cushion the economic and social impact of the pandemic, and of high energy and food prices. While bold fiscal support prevented the economy from falling into a recession, public debt has risen and fiscal consolidation should now continue at a gradual pace. Rising social demands, population ageing and the green transition will likely add to public spending pressures and call for raising additional tax revenues. Boosting productivity and mastering the transition towards more sustainable and inclusive growth will require stepping up delayed structural reforms. Competition remains limited across several sectors, likely related to market entry barriers and high regulatory burdens. More than half of workers lack formal employment and social security does not cover most of them. Social pensions provide a minimum income floor for elderly people, and raising them could allow significant inroads in the fight against poverty and inequality. Meeting climate pledges will require bold and well-organised reforms. Renewable power generation has advanced, but the overall share of renewable energy sources remains lower than in peer countries.
SPECIAL FEATURES: BOOSTING PRODUCTIVITY; INCLUSIVE RECOVERY; GREEN GROWTH
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 peer review report analyses the practical implementation of the standard of transparency and exchange of information on request in Thailand, as part of the second round of reviews conducted by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes since 2016.
The Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India is a regular publication on regional economic growth and development in Emerging Asia. It focuses on the economic conditions of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. It also addresses relevant economic issues in China and India to fully reflect developments in the region. This Update presents the region’s economic outlook, depicting rapidly changing trends and macroeconomic challenges amidst external headwinds.
The Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India is a regular publication on regional economic growth and development in Emerging Asia – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, as well as China and India. It comprises three parts: a regional economic monitor, special thematic chapters addressing a major issue facing the region, and a series of country notes.
The 2023 edition discusses the region’s economic outlook and macroeconomic challenges at a time of great uncertainty and a slowdown of the global economy, in particular owing to inflationary pressures, capital flow volatility and supply-side bottlenecks. The thematic chapters focus on reviving tourism after the pandemic. Tourism was among the sectors most affected by both the COVID-19 pandemic and responses to it. The report highlights the economic impact of tourism in the region and explores how the sector can be reshaped to regain its significant role in Emerging Asia. The interruption of tourism allowed countries in the region to consider reforms in the sector, including diversifying tourism markets and addressing labour market challenges, while catering to the new needs and preferences of the post-pandemic world, prioritising sustainable and environmentally responsible activities, and accelerating digitalisation.
Skills are the key to shaping a better future, enabling countries and people to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world. Megatrends such as globalisation, technological progress, demographic change, migration, and climate change, and most recently COVID-19, are reshaping work and society, generating a growing demand for higher levels and new sets of skills.
The OECD Skills Strategy offers a strategic and comprehensive approach to assessing the skills challenges and opportunities of countries and regions for the purposes of helping them build more effective skills systems. The foundation of this approach is the OECD Skills Strategy Framework, which allows for an examination of what countries and regions can do better to: 1) develop relevant skills over the life course; 2) use skills effectively in work and in society; and 3) strengthen the governance of the skills system.
This report, OECD Skills Strategy Southeast Asia: Skills for a Post-COVID Recovery and Growth, applies the OECD Skills Strategy framework to assess the performance of countries in Southeast Asia, identifies opportunities for improvement and provides recommendations based on in-depth desk analysis and consultations with stakeholder representatives.
Regulatory reforms have long been a focus for Southeast Asian nations, often as a way to improve the business climate and policy frameworks for trade and investment. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has spurred countries around the world to review and update their regulatory policies to respond to the current crisis and prepare for the next one. This publication presents a snapshot of the current state of regulatory reform across the region, with country profiles from all 10 Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) highlighting practices in three priority areas: whole-of-government initiatives, good regulatory practices, and use of digital technologies. It also offers an analysis of common themes identified across the profiles, including trends in regulatory reform, common challenges faced by countries, and future priorities in the region. It was developed in collaboration with the members of the ASEAN-OECD Good Regulatory Practices Network, and key regional partners including the ASEAN Secretariat and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
Reflecting on the experiences of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, this OECD working paper illustrates selected international trends that are driving innovation in the practice of public communication across the OECD to make it more inclusive, responsive and compelling. These include advanced uses of “big data” and analytics to power precise, targeted communication, collaboration with trusted third-party messengers in diverse communities, and the application of behavioural insights (BI) to communication. In turn, these trends can help promote the use of public communication for policy, openness and dialogue. The paper reflects on the implications of these international trends for four countries in Southeast Asia, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. It looks at local lessons from the pandemic response and identifies avenues for adopting global good practices more widely. The paper focuses on a set of institutional prerequisites, including fostering a culture of innovation in public communication mandates and approaches, ensuring access to specialised skillsets, and strengthening ethical guidance in the use of new technologies and BI.
Under BEPS Action 14, members of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS have committed to implement a minimum standard to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP). The MAP is included in Article 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention and commits countries to endeavour to resolve disputes related to the interpretation and application of tax treaties. The BEPS Action 14 Minimum Standard has been translated into specific terms of reference and a methodology for the peer review and monitoring process. The peer review process is conducted in two stages. Stage 1 assesses countries against the terms of reference of the minimum standard according to an agreed schedule of review. Stage 2 focuses on monitoring the follow-up of any recommendations resulting from jurisdictions' Stage 1 peer review report. This report reflects the outcome of the Stage 2 peer monitoring of the implementation of the BEPS Action 14 Minimum Standard by Thailand.