Tackling Thailand’s middle-income trap by entrepreneur society
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Abstract
The middle-income trap occurs in emerging industrialized countries around the world. Thailand faces the same problem as other countries in Asia. The middle-income trap was a topic discussed after World War II. The situation of the Thai economy echoed the situation of other Asian and Latin American countries after decolonization. Several proposals have been made on how to boost the economy to avoid the middle-income trap. It is crucial to explore the experience from advanced economies and adjust that experience to the Thai context. This article explores the concepts of the middle-income trap and studies the development of the Thai industry policy after it shifted from dependence on the agricultural sector to the industry and services sectors. The article includes the concepts of the middle-income trap, Thailand’s economic policy, the entrepreneur society, the solution to avoid the middle-income trap, and moving up the income ladder and tackles Thailand’s middle-income trap. Many papers focused only on education and training to overcome the middle-income trap. However, this article proposed three solutions for boosting Thailand’s domestic economy to overcome a middle-income trap. These include strengthening research and development through strengthening the research and development through education, supporting entrepreneurs, and stimulating domestic demand.
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