Financial Institutions in Thailand and Related Regulators and Laws 344 Appendix 8.2: Members of the National Legislative Assembly, 2006 346 Bibliography 351
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University of Bath PHD The Politics of Macroeconomic Policy Making in Thailand Painmanakul, Arissara Award date: 2010 Awarding institution: University of Bath Link to publication Alternative formats If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact: [email protected] General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? 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Oct. 2021 Contents List of Tables 3 List of Figures 3 A Note on Spelling of Thai Names and Referencing 4 List of Abbreviations 5 Acknowledgements 7 Abstract 9 1 Introduction 10 1.1 Thesis rationale 11 1.2 Research questions 19 1.3 Research methodology 20 1.4 Research contributions 22 1.5 Structure of the thesis 23 2 Theoretical Approaches to the Dynamics of Economic Policy-Making 25 2.1 Introduction 25 2.2 Society-centred approaches 26 2.3 International systems approaches 34 2.4 State-centred approaches 40 2.5 Conclusions 51 3 Research Methodology 53 3.1 Introduction 53 3.2 Research methodology 53 3.3 Research sampling 57 3.4 Data collection methods 62 3.5 Report on fieldwork activities 66 3.6 Ethical issues pertaining to the study and the recording of interview data 68 3.7 Data analysis 69 3.8 Conclusions 71 4 The Thai Policy-Making Framework and Political Economy 72 4.1 Introduction 72 4.2 Approaches to Thai politics and policy-making 73 4.3 Historical background of the Thai political economy 101 4.4 Conclusions 118 5 The Politics of Financial Liberalisation 123 5.1 Introduction 123 5.2 The debate on financial liberalisation 124 5.3 Phase One: Liberalisation and transformation of the political economy 127 5.4 Phase Two: Further liberalisation, defence of the Baht and political instability 143 5.5 Conclusions 166 6 The Financial Crisis and its Political Contestation 172 6.1 Introduction 172 6.2 Causes and interpretations of the financial crisis 174 6.3 Interpretation of the Thai crisis 187 6.4 The IMF and its impact during the Chavalit Government 194 1 6.5 Political transformation and policy adjustment during the Chuan government 203 6.6 Conclusions 214 7 Thaksin and Policy Populism 218 7.1 Introduction 218 7.2 The Rise of Thaksin and political populism 219 7.3 Political consolidation 230 7.4 From Thaksinomics to policy populism 234 7.5 Thaksin, Thai Rak Thai, and the new pattern of policy-making 241 7.6 From the 2005 election victory to political decline 254 7.7 Conclusions 268 8 The politics of the Financial Institutions Act 276 8.1 Introduction 276 8.2 The evolution of the Financial Institutions Act 277 8.3 The debate around the Financial Service Authority 281 8.4 The debate on penal provisions and shareholding restrictions 291 8.5 Discussion of findings 299 8.6 Conclusions 308 9 Conclusions 310 9.1 Summary and findings 311 9.2 A dynamic conceptual framework for the Thai policy-making process 319 9.3 Implications of the thesis 322 9.4 Research limitations and future directions 325 Appendices 327 Appendix 3.1: Roles and responsibilities of key Thai economic agencies 327 Appendix 3.2: List of key informant interviewees, First Round 329 Appendix 3.2: List of key informant interviewees, Second Round 331 Appendix 5.1: Chronology of Prime Ministers, Finance Ministers, and key economic policies 334 Appendix 6.1: Macroeconomic targets for 1998-99 in various Letters of Intent 338 Appendix 6.2: Contributions to IMF loans 338 Appendix 6.3: August 14 Package I – Capital Support Facilities 339 Appendix 6.4: Summary of 11 proposed reform bills 341 Appendix 6.5: Government expenditure 1997-1999 (Baht, millions) 343 Appendix 8.1: Financial institutions in Thailand and related regulators and laws 344 Appendix 8.2: Members of the National Legislative Assembly, 2006 346 Bibliography 351 2 List of Tables Table 4.1: Constitutions in Thailand, 1932-1978 ...............................................................119 Table 4.2: Occupational distribution of members of the House of Representatives, 1983- 1986 (Percentages) ............................................................................................................121 Table 4.3: Businessmen in the Thai cabinet, 1963-1986 ...................................................121 Table 5.1: Election results by region, 1992 and 1995 ........................................................145 Table 5.2: Results of the 1996 general election by party ..................................................150 Table 5.3: Investment and savings rate, 1987-1996 (% of GDP) .......................................153 Table 5.4: Interest rates in selected countries, 1990-1996 (per cent) ..............................154 Table 6.1: Stock market indicators, 1993-1994 .................................................................175 Table 6.2: Summary of key interpretations of the Financial Crisis ....................................191 Table 6.3: Ownership of banks, March 1997 and May 2000 .............................................213 Table 7.1: Shinawatra listed companies’ financial results, 1992-1998 (Baht, millions) ....221 Table 7.2: Telecoms stock performance, January-September 1997 (Baht, billions) .........223 Table 7.3: General election results by party and region, January 2001 ............................227 Table 7.4:General election results by party and region, February 2005 ...........................255 Table 8.1: Profile of Governors of the Bank of Thailand, 1959 – 2006 ..............................300 List of Figures Figure 4.1: Warr and Bhanupong’s Economic Policy-Making Framework in 1980s Thailand .............................................................................................................................................. 76 Figure 4.2: Rangsun’s framework of the process of economic policy decision-making in Thailand between 1932 and 1987 ....................................................................................... 97 Figure 5.1: GDP growth in Thailand, 1985-1993 ................................................................130 Figure 5.2: Current account balance, 1987-1997 (% of GDP) ...........................................147 Figure 5.3: International reserves, 1994-1998 (US%, billions)...........................................162 Figure 6.1: GDP growth, 1993-2001 (percentage change) ................................................175 Figure 6.2: Change in current account balance, 1987-1997 ..............................................177 Figure 6.3: Export growth rate, 1993-1998........................................................................178 Figure 6.4: Analytical framework for the interpretation of the Thai financial crisis .........188 Figure 6.5: Number of financial institutions by type, 1989-2000 ......................................212 Figure 7.1: Policy-making structure in the Thaksin Government, 2001 – 2002 ................251 3 A Note on Spelling of Thai Names and Referencing In referring to Thai people or scholars, this thesis has chosen to use their first name and follow with surname which is normally used in Thailand. While Thai-English language names differ in local media and organisations, the researcher prefers to use those that are commonly employed in international publications and main Thai economic agencies such as the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Thailand. Furthermore, throughout the thesis, referencing all newspaper articles and magazines such as The Nation, Bangkok Post, Manager, Matichon, and Krungthep Turakij, as well as key informants from both rounds of fieldwork in Thailand is shown in footnote as it is convenient for the researcher and reader to follow up the whole thesis. 4 List of Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank AMC Assets Management Corporation AMF Asian Monetary Fund ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations ATI Association of Thai Industries BBC Bangkok Bank of Commerce BIBF Bangkok International Banking Facility BOB Bureau of Budget BOT Bank of Thailand CDR Council for Democratic Reform CNS Council for National Security CP Charoen Pokphand Group CPP Chart Pattana Party CTP Chart Thai Party DOI Department of Insurance DP Democrat Party EC Election Commission EGAT Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand EU European Union EXIM Export and Import Bank of Thailand FDI Foreign Direct Investment FIA Financial Institutions Act FIDF Financial Institutions Development Fund FPO Fiscal Policy Office FRA Financial Sector Restructuring Authority FSA Financial Supervisory Agency GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GDP Gross Domestic Product IMF International Monetary Fund JPPCC Joint Public and Private Sector Consultative Committee LOI Letter of Intent MOC Ministry of Commerce MOF Ministry of Finance MPs Members of Parliament MPP Mahachon Party NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement NAP New Aspiration Party NCCC National Counter Corruption Commission NESDB National Economic and Social Development