The Bangkok Economy

Over the tree decades since Thailand adopted economic and social development planning, economic growth has progressed at a remarkable rate. Thai economic growth has averaged over 7 percent annually in real terms during the 1960s and 1970s. Following a decline in the first half of 1980s owing to the worldwide oil crises, it has achieved an even higher rate of growth, for a few years reaching 10 to 12 percent. It is estimated that the growth this year will be an impressive 8.2 percent.

But the growing national prosperity has not “trickled down” to all levels or all areas of the country. Bangkok remains dominant economically. The gross domestic production of Bangkok and its vicinity in 1989 accounted for 48 percent.

Even within Bangkok, however, major income disparities exist. In 1988, 91 percent of the city population had a per capita monthly income of less than 5,000 baht (approx. US$200). About 7.8 percent had an income of between 5,000 and 10,000 baht per month, while only one percent had a monthly income of over 10,000 baht.

As the Thai economy gears up for the globalized trade and various companies go transnational, the income gap grows even wider, that which exists between the highest and lowest income earners is simply unimaginable.

Bangkok, as Thais are painfully aware, is the seat of all forms of power-social, economic and political. And as in the economic sphere, social and political power is extremely top-heavy. Practically all decision-making affecting the life of the majority is done by a handful of politicians and bureaucrats with cooperation and support of the business sector. The nation’s elite generally do not subscribe to the concept of public participation.

Even in Bangkok where the city administration is allowed a degree of autonomy, citizens have little practical control over the city’s development.

The result is a city that is out of control. Factories stand alongside houses. Condominiums are constructed everywhere with no consideration to the carrying capacity of surrounding roads and its environmental impact to their immediate neighborhoods.

Canals, once the pride of all Thais which gave Bangkok the name “ Venice of the East”, are no more than large open sewers. Mega-projects are signed between the state and private companies with no consultation with the public as a result of which the citizens must endure various forms of hardship with no official channel for redress.

All of this uncontrolled development has brought Bangkok virtually to a stand-still as motorized vehicles jam the roads while thousands of new ones join in the chaos everyday. Air, noise and water pollution makes Bangkok one of the most polluted cities in the world.