During the past 20 years, Thailand has undergone
remarkable changes. At the beginning of that period, it
seemed that Thailand could be characterized by
remarkably uneven patterns of development, an unusual,
non-colonial mode of incorporation into the global
economy, and generally limited appeal to transnational
corporations and foreign investors. The economic and
political uncertainty that characterized Thailand during
the early 1980s resulted in limited success in formal
structural adjustments; imbalanced sectoral employment,
particularly in the agricultural sector; low levels of
urbanization; concentration of the population and
modern activities in the Bangkok Metropolitan area;
rural-urban development and income gaps; and
underdevelopment of education and training