1887

OECD Economics Department Working Papers

Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.

The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.

English, French

Making Thailand’s services sector more competitive through international trade

Services are an important part of global economic activity and of international trade. Nevertheless, compared to its very large tourism sector, the sector of high-end business services in Thailand remains small. As IT and information, and professional services are traded indirectly through value chains and are now crucial elements of manufacturing, strengthening these services would benefit Thailand in its post-COVID-19 participation of global value chains, enhancing the competitiveness of its manufacturers. This paper analyses how Thailand can seize the opportunity of growing international trade in services. It points out that liberalising services sector markets would strengthen the competitiveness of the services sectors and boost productivity not only in the sectors, but also in manufacturing sectors that rely on these services as input. In this regard, Thailand can benefit more from service-oriented Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). Moreover, eliminating FDI restrictions would not only be crucial to spur employment and exports, but also benefit consumers. The paper identifies that, to maximise the benefits of services trade integration, Thailand needs to step up policies to re- and up-skill workers and make the labour market more flexible.

English

Keywords: Thailand, Global Value Chains (GVCs), Trade in Services
JEL: F16: International Economics / Trade / Trade and Labor Market Interactions; F14: International Economics / Trade / Empirical Studies of Trade; F66: International Economics / Economic Impacts of Globalization / Economic Impacts of Globalization: Labor; F21: International Economics / International Factor Movements and International Business / International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements; F63: International Economics / Economic Impacts of Globalization / Economic Impacts of Globalization: Economic Development; F13: International Economics / Trade / Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations; L80: Industrial Organization / Industry Studies: Services / Industry Studies: Services: General; F68: International Economics / Economic Impacts of Globalization / Economic Impacts of Globalization: Policy; F17: International Economics / Trade / Trade: Forecasting and Simulation
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