2. Evolution of the Meltdown
For several decades before the crisis, Thailand’s economic performance had been highly satisfactory. Average real gross domestic product (GDP) growth between 1960 and 1995 was about 7.7% per annum and the proportion of the population under the poverty line declined from about 60% to less than 15% during the same period. The country was regarded as an example of the so-called ‘’East Asian economic miracle’’ (World Bank, 1993). Yet, a couple of years later, the country got into a severe financial crisis and essentially became insolvent, in terms of not having enough usable foreign reserves left to meet its obligations. Assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was needed, and a painful adjustment process to recover from the crisis had to be carried out, leading to a lost half decade of development; the average growth rate between 1996 and 2001 was just about zero