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Data for the third quarter, the last three months of the Bhumibol era, out today, will show annual GDP growth at 3%, still the slowest (except Singapore) in ASEAN. Monetary policy is tight and the baht is one of Asia’s strongest currencies this year; merchandise exports are set to fall for the fourth straight year. The rural economy is in a rut: a tonne of rice fetches a free-market price of 5,000 baht ($140), down from a state-guaranteed 20,000 under civilian rule, which ended with the military coup in 2014. Private investment has been struggling since then too. Exclude booming tourism receipts and government spending, and growth is weak. But the soldiers who run the country in the service of Bangkok’s power elite are not worried. They will puff the late king’s notion of a “sufficiency economy”—a royal philosophy that emphasises moderation, reasonableness and prudence—as a miracle cure.
Source: https://espresso.economist.com/d20f6cbf98b2efd688d5e33c2920b586
