Lockdown worries rife
published : 22 Dec 2020 at 04:05
27 A worker pushes a cart at Talay Thai market in Samut Sakhon. The World Bank says the economy will suffer in a second lockdown. Arnun Chonmahatrakool
Thailand s GDP could see a steep contraction similar to the second-quarter decline if nationwide lockdown measures are imposed to contain a fresh round of outbreaks, says the World Bank.
Should a new round of infections result in a lockdown in Bangkok or across Thailand, overall economic activities would be impeded, said Kiatipong Ariyapruchya, senior country economist for Thailand at the World Bank.
Under this scenario, domestic consumption would diminish and cause the unemployment rate to edge up, with Thailand s GDP nudging lower as a result, said Mr Kiatipong.
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THAILAND: Higher productivity in manufacturing key to becoming high-income country
Higher productivity growth in Thailand will be a key source of stronger economic growth and better competitiveness, according to the Thailand Manufacturing Firm Productivity Report, a joint research product of the World Bank and the Monetary Policy Department of the Bank of Thailand.
For Thailand to achieve its national development strategy target to transition to high-income status by 2037 and to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact, it must accelerate structural reforms to boost investment and accelerate productivity growth of manufacturing firms. Thailand would need to sustain a long-run average growth rate of over 5 percent beyond 2025. Achieving this growth rate would require nearly doubling the current rate of both public and private investment to 40 percent while maintaining one of the fastest Total Factor Productivity growth trajectories, similar to that of South
Modern Diplomacy
Published 5 months ago
A new World Bank report shows a decline in student performance in reading and a stagnation of scores in math and science, and links it to disparities in allocation and to inefficiencies of investments across schools in Thailand. Impacts of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic may accelerate these trends, the report warns.
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