The Ninth National Economic and Social Development Plan
For the past 43 years, Thailand has produced five-year strategic plans. These are called National and Social
Development Plans. This study takes place within the ambit of the Ninth National Economic and Social Development
Plan (NESD). In the early NESD plans, economic and geographical developments were considered to be a top priority.
Particularly, this was because the income gap between that of the urban and rural areas was very wide, as was the
opportunity for self-advancement of rural folk. The Thai government tried to address such issues by allocating funds to
regional projects and rural areas in an attempt to make income more equitable between all regions of the country.
However, as a consequence of the Asian economic crisis in 1997, the Thai king doubted whether Thailand would truly
benefit from being called one of the economic tigers when it was, predominantly, an agricultural country. Consequently,
the concept of a ‘sufficiency economy’ was highlighted and included in the Ninth National Economic and Social
Development Plan (NESD 2001).
The Ninth NESD Plan states that, over the past four decades, imbalanced development has become very evident
(NESD 2001). A significant contributor to this outcome is that Thailand’s economic, political and administrative
management systems are almost entirely centralised and notoriously inefficient. Interestingly, although quantitative
indicators of development are often achieved, the quality of life in outlying villages still lags far behind any acceptable
standard. In addition, social conflict and associated tension have increased due to the widening income gap, with this
resulting in increased poverty, plus further depletion of natural resources, as well as environmental deterioration. Thus,
the focus of the Ninth NESD plan is on holistic and balanced development of human resources, as well as that of the
economy, and Thai natural resources, doing so by involving people at all level in society. The plan also encourages Thais
to apply sufficiency economy concepts in their way of life at the individual, family, and community level.
It is worth noting that sufficiency economy is a philosophical approach that stresses pursuit of a middle path,
with this being the overriding principle for appropriate conduct and way of life of the entire populace. As mentioned, this
applies to conduct at the individual, family, and community levels. Nonetheless, at the national level, this philosophy is
consistent with a balanced development strategy that aims to reduce the vulnerability of the nation to shocks and excesses
that might arise as a result of globalisation. Sufficiency, in this context, means moderation and due consideration in all
modes of conduct; it also incorporates the need for adequate protection from internal and external economic shocks. To
achieve this goal, the prudent application of knowledge is essential. In particular, great care is needed in the application
of appropriate theories and technical know-how, as well as in the related planning and implementation. At the same time,
it is essential to strengthen the moral fibre of the nation so that everyone, from villagers to public officials, academics,
business people, and financiers, adhere first and foremost to the principles of honesty and integrity. A balanced approach
combining patience, perseverance, diligence, wisdom, and prudence is indispensable if Thais are to cope appropriately
with critical challenges arising from extensive and rapid socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural change occurring as
a result of globalization (NESD 2001).
It is noteworthy that Thais adopted Buddhism and have, thereby, been taught about taking the middle course in
their lives so as to live in moderation between the two extremes of blindly ignoring practical daily affairs and, in stark
contrast, laying down, and abiding by, a code of inflexible rules (Payutto 1999). It is, therefore, more than understandable
that, in the Ninth NESD Plan, major emphasis is placed on the balanced development of human, social, economic and
environmental resources. Furthermore, the pursuance of good governance at all levels of Thai society is underscored in
order to achieve real sustainable people-centred development (NESDB 2001). Accordingly, one of the planned strategies
in economic and social development is to empower the village communities so that they can serve as strong foundations
of Thai society. It is for this reason that all stakeholders in community development are priority targets in relation to
mobilising necessary participation. Interaction between key stakeholders, therefore, is of prime importance if the goals of
the NESD plan are to be met will be discussed in Chapter Two, such as works related to the Ninth Economic and Social
Development Plan (NESD 2003), the administrative structure of the Thai Government, the historical development of
Thai society, and the nature of Thai society, plus communication theory and the concepts of discourse analysis.As
suggested in the precious section, the NESD Plan of the Thai government relies on crucial communication between
officials and villagers due to the fact that public participation is one of the main strategies stressed in the plan. This is
used as a guideline in the study of the communication between these two important groups, being officials and villagers.
As such, particular attention is paid to villagers who, at the grassroots level, are the prime point of focus for national
development in Thailand. This focus is because villagers need to understand the policies and targets of national
development and work in close accordance with the achievement of proposed goals. Interestingly, the concept of
grassroots-level inclusion is not new to Thailand. In 1975, decentralisation arose for first time when the development
program of that era was initiated. Thereby, the Tambon (or sub-district) Council became the key body in deciding which
projects should be undertaken in the area of its newfound responsibility. The Council designed as an intermediate
institution between the surrounding district and related villagers, is comprised primarily of elected representatives from
each village in the associated Tambon (Fry 1982).
The Ninth National Economic and Social Development Plan
For the past 43 years, Thailand has produced five-year strategic plans. These are called National and Social
Development Plans. This study takes place within the ambit of the Ninth National Economic and Social Development
Plan (NESD). In the early NESD plans, economic and geographical developments were considered to be a top priority.
Particularly, this was because the income gap between that of the urban and rural areas was very wide, as was the
opportunity for self-advancement of rural folk. The Thai government tried to address such issues by allocating funds to
regional projects and rural areas in an attempt to make income more equitable between all regions of the country.
However, as a consequence of the Asian economic crisis in 1997, the Thai king doubted whether Thailand would truly
benefit from being called one of the economic tigers when it was, predominantly, an agricultural country. Consequently,
the concept of a ‘sufficiency economy’ was highlighted and included in the Ninth National Economic and Social
Development Plan (NESD 2001).
The Ninth NESD Plan states that, over the past four decades, imbalanced development has become very evident
(NESD 2001). A significant contributor to this outcome is that Thailand’s economic, political and administrative
management systems are almost entirely centralised and notoriously inefficient. Interestingly, although quantitative
indicators of development are often achieved, the quality of life in outlying villages still lags far behind any acceptable
standard. In addition, social conflict and associated tension have increased due to the widening income gap, with this
resulting in increased poverty, plus further depletion of natural resources, as well as environmental deterioration. Thus,
the focus of the Ninth NESD plan is on holistic and balanced development of human resources, as well as that of the
economy, and Thai natural resources, doing so by involving people at all level in society. The plan also encourages Thais
to apply sufficiency economy concepts in their way of life at the individual, family, and community level.
It is worth noting that sufficiency economy is a philosophical approach that stresses pursuit of a middle path,
with this being the overriding principle for appropriate conduct and way of life of the entire populace. As mentioned, this
applies to conduct at the individual, family, and community levels. Nonetheless, at the national level, this philosophy is
consistent with a balanced development strategy that aims to reduce the vulnerability of the nation to shocks and excesses
that might arise as a result of globalisation. Sufficiency, in this context, means moderation and due consideration in all
modes of conduct; it also incorporates the need for adequate protection from internal and external economic shocks. To
achieve this goal, the prudent application of knowledge is essential. In particular, great care is needed in the application
of appropriate theories and technical know-how, as well as in the related planning and implementation. At the same time,
it is essential to strengthen the moral fibre of the nation so that everyone, from villagers to public officials, academics,
business people, and financiers, adhere first and foremost to the principles of honesty and integrity. A balanced approach
combining patience, perseverance, diligence, wisdom, and prudence is indispensable if Thais are to cope appropriately
with critical challenges arising from extensive and rapid socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural change occurring as
a result of globalization (NESD 2001).
It is noteworthy that Thais adopted Buddhism and have, thereby, been taught about taking the middle course in
their lives so as to live in moderation between the two extremes of blindly ignoring practical daily affairs and, in stark
contrast, laying down, and abiding by, a code of inflexible rules (Payutto 1999). It is, therefore, more than understandable
that, in the Ninth NESD Plan, major emphasis is placed on the balanced development of human, social, economic and
environmental resources. Furthermore, the pursuance of good governance at all levels of Thai society is underscored in
order to achieve real sustainable people-centred development (NESDB 2001). Accordingly, one of the planned strategies
in economic and social development is to empower the village communities so that they can serve as strong foundations
of Thai society. It is for this reason that all stakeholders in community development are priority targets in relation to
mobilising necessary participation. Interaction between key stakeholders, therefore, is of prime importance if the goals of
the NESD plan are to be met will be discussed in Chapter Two, such as works related to the Ninth Economic and Social
Development Plan (NESD 2003), the administrative structure of the Thai Government, the historical development of
Thai society, and the nature of Thai society, plus communication theory and the concepts of discourse analysis.As
suggested in the precious section, the NESD Plan of the Thai government relies on crucial communication between
officials and villagers due to the fact that public participation is one of the main strategies stressed in the plan. This is
used as a guideline in the study of the communication between these two important groups, being officials and villagers.
As such, particular attention is paid to villagers who, at the grassroots level, are the prime point of focus for national
development in Thailand. This focus is because villagers need to understand the policies and targets of national
development and work in close accordance with the achievement of proposed goals. Interestingly, the concept of
grassroots-level inclusion is not new to Thailand. In 1975, decentralisation arose for first time when the development
program of that era was initiated. Thereby, the Tambon (or sub-district) Council became the key body in deciding which
projects should be undertaken in the area of its newfound responsibility. The Council designed as an intermediate
institution between the surrounding district and related villagers, is comprised primarily of elected representatives from
each village in the associated Tambon (Fry 1982).
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