The year 2013 was the most challenging year because
Thai
economy in the first and second half of the year wa
s dramatically
different. The implementation of several populist p
olicies, such as
rice pledging scheme, minimum wage’s increase, firs
t car policy,
public expenditure policy and fiscal stimulus polic
y, contributed to
a satisfactory economic growth in the first half of
2013. Instead, the
second half of the year saw termination of various
government
measures, global economic slowdown, capital outflow
, and
household debt burden stemming from over consumptio
n and lack
of financial discipline. All these factors put grea
t pressure on Thai
economy, causing rapid contraction of the economic
growth.