The main composition of Thai manufactured exports, in particular resource-based manufactured
exports, rested on both low wage and abundant natural resources which did not follow the
East Asian NIEs’ experience. Furthermore, there was an attempt to link Thai high economic
growth to the laissez-faire policy to the extent that private-enterprise has been seen as a
driving force behind rapid industrialization in the last three decades. Some social scientists
claim that it is due to the magic of the market place