Thailand aims to become high income country in the next ten years

[Tomtomtom69]

They can't even enforce the most basic traffic rules here. Like motorcycles zipping down major roads going in the wrong direction.

And they think they can become a developed country?

Fat chance of that.

Did April 1st just come around twice this year?

[Tomtomtom69]

Thailand has a pathetic legal system run by corrupt lawyers and judges who have no understanding of the basic principles of law together with a xenophobic attitude to all people foreign added to which the laws on foreign ownership of pretty much everything is beyond restrictive. With those foundations Thailand does not have any hope of garnering the foreign investment needed to 'catapult' anything.

It has a disfunctional political system and spends years designing constitutions that are so detailed they can never stand the test of time. Mired in detail when what is needed is a visionary statement of principles to which all future and present laws are tested. It should be possible for people to agree basic principles of the society they want but they cannot see the wood for the trees and everyone has different agendas.

They have a population who are brainwashed that everything Thai is wonderful where the reality is the opposite and so the population believes there is no need to learn because they are already superior - when the reality is that the majority are ignorant and pretty much incapable of anything outside repetitive tasks - the sort of tasks that machines are pretty good at doing far more effectively.

The corruption in the country infects every sector of society so the most corrupt and incompetent and criminal people are in positions of power providing no benefit whatsover to the country.

No one pays the proper tax and that is openly evident from the VAT that most shops ask if you want to pay. Even if you report someone for tax evasion - no one is interested unless it is a foreigner they can abuse and persecute.

There is no hope whatsoever that Thailand will advance until these issues are tackled - at the moment you are not even allowed to openly discuss them in depth for the most part. I am sorry to say the whole country is under a false illusion as to its importance in the world and in total self denial for the evidence is openly plain for all to see. Thailand is going to sink below its neighbours through its own delusion of grandeur and lack of education.

It really is rather sad.

+1

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The post that most accurately articulates the facts standing in the way of Thailand becoming a developed country, that proves the minister who even came up with this nonsense is just living in la-la land.

[Jiggo]

'Transport Minister'

[HenryB]

Seen a lot of negative comments in this thread, but let's try to make a real evaluation of this statement:

1. "High Income Country" is a term that refers to a country with a nominal GNI (Gross National Income) per capita of US$ 12,735 or above.

This threshhold changes every year, according to the inflattion in a few major economies.

2. You can see the list of countries by GNI per capita here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GNI_%28nominal,_Atlas_method%29_per_capita

3. Thailand currently has a GNI per capita of US$ 5,410, which puts it in the "Upper-middle-income" group

4. In order to reach the threshhold of US$ 12,735, the Thai GNI per capita in US$ needs to grow by 135% (((12,735 / 5,410) - 1) x 100)

5. How long would it take?

If the GNI per capita grows by 3% per year (quite fast, but achievable), it would take Thailand 29 years to reach the "High Income Country" threshhold.

If the GNI per capita grows by 5% per year (very unlikely), it would take Thailand 18 years to reach the "High Income Country" threshhold.

Personally, I think a 3% per year growth rate is much more realistic than 5%. It may be even lower, at 2-2.5%.

If I had to make a bet on this, I would put it at 35-40 years (so around the year 2050/55).

GNI per capita in US$ 55,000 not the dumb figure you posted

A big differnece

[Time Traveller]

10% export growth and 5% GDP growth per year for the next 10 years is fantasyland assumptions. Thailand's population has stopped growing and it's labor force is in fact shrinking. Where is this growth going to magically come from? Just because the PrimeMinister can jail people for what that speak doesn't mean that his dreamworld goals will ever happen.

And even assuming that thailand did meet those targets, their GDP per capita would rise from about $5500 income per capita currently to around $9000 in 10yrs from now - still not even close to the minimun standard for "high income" country. Sorry, the most likely scenario is that thailand will become an old age country stuck with very modest income and no welfare safety net. Sucks to be you!

Edited September 17, 2015 by Time Traveller

[casindonet]

we've already had April 1st this year

It's different here....april fools comes by the 100s in thailand, especially when you have minister like him.

[gk10002000]

Well, i have my memories of a dozen great trips. Thailand keeps squeezing out the middle and low class and shooting for the upper class, creating more and more stratification.

[arunsakda]

I think he was smoking something like this

now thats a duby.jpg

Something out of a Cheech and Chong movie.

[GinBoy2]

So I think it's interesting to look look at per capita income of another asian country, South Korea.

Here was a country which back in the early 70's had a per capita income roughly equal to Thailand, and I might add an equally problematic political structure, bouncing around from autocratic and military regimes.

Curious to see what happened to them when they finally made the transition to a true democracy, versus Thailand which talks a lot about moving to a high income country, but doesn't seem to tie a political grown up culture to an economic one.

Maybe, just maybe there might be a connection......

[arunsakda]

Japan and Thailand were similar in economic and social terms prior to the "Meiji Restoration" of 1868. Many papers and theses have been written about this.

[ableguy]

Well goodness me this is good news, along with all the hubs that are planned, high incomes , a corruption free government, just think guys good looking Issan girls who are rich, safe airlines, reformed police, cheap lottery tickets, chicken and rice still thirty baht, paradise yes sir.

Ps hope us old farts stay in demand.

[ableguy]

So I think it's interesting to look look at per capita income of another asian country, South Korea.

Here was a country which back in the early 70's had a per capita income roughly equal to Thailand, and I might add an equally problematic political structure, bouncing around from autocratic and military regimes.

Curious to see what happened to them when they finally made the transition to a true democracy, versus Thailand which talks a lot about moving to a high income country, but doesn't seem to tie a political grown up culture to an economic one.

Maybe, just maybe there might be a connection......

You forgot about education.

[anotheruser]

Japan and Thailand were similar in economic and social terms prior to the "Meiji Restoration" of 1868. Many papers and theses have been written about this.

now the year is 2015 and Thailand isn't similar to Japan during that period of time anyway.

[BSJ]

I just wet my pants laughing so hard

Maybe you should consider wearing adult diapers when reading posts on TVF.

[NongKhaiKid]

Ten years ?

Deadline extension anyone ? Now that's something LoS is really good at handling.

Edited September 19, 2015 by NongKhaiKid

[Lingba]

I just wet my pants laughing so hard

Maybe you should consider wearing adult diapers when reading posts on TVF.

you're right...everything in here will make me wet my pants

[GinBoy2]

So I think it's interesting to look look at per capita income of another asian country, South Korea.

Here was a country which back in the early 70's had a per capita income roughly equal to Thailand, and I might add an equally problematic political structure, bouncing around from autocratic and military regimes.

Curious to see what happened to them when they finally made the transition to a true democracy, versus Thailand which talks a lot about moving to a high income country, but doesn't seem to tie a political grown up culture to an economic one.

Maybe, just maybe there might be a connection......

You forgot about education.

Education is often tied to the overall political and cultural environment.

Autocratic regimes like, love to talk about about their wonderful education, North Korea, China etc.

But it doesn't serve an autocratic regime well to have a educated population that thinks for itself. Much better for autocrats to educate their people, to recite, regurgitate, and repeat...thinking not so much.

Hence you are right good education is hugely important, but it comes generally as part of an overall societal package, not part of some autocratic regimes buffet menu.