Within the last 45 years, per capita income in Thailand has risen from ฿1,748
in 1956 to ฿81,435 in 2001 at current market prices.3 Such a success can be attributed
to the development strategy and economic policies aimed at stabilization, close
cooperation between the government and the local private sector, the encouragement
of foreign investment, an export-oriented strategy and the building up of economic
institutions which were encouraged to coordinate and manage the development
process using the private sector as the spearhead of economic growth.