Revisiting Thailand’s Developmental Miracle
The Rate of Profit, Social Structure of Accumulation, and Trajectory of Economic Development between 1957-1997
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/arv.2025.1Keywords:
rate of profit, social structure of accumulation, pre-1997 Thailand economyAbstract
This article aims to provide an overview of Thailand's economic development trajectory from 1957 to 1997. Based on the Social Structure of Accumulation theory, which posits that a "set of institutions" relates to fluctuations in the rate of profit and economic growth, the Thai economy during this period featured a specific institutional framework that created "long waves" in profit rates. Using a historical analysis approach, the arrangement of the Social Structure of Accumulation of this period includes: (1) the dominance of American "capitalist" development ideas; (2) tight control of planning and policy implementation by technocrats; (3) a tripod structure comprising state-owned enterprises, multinational corporations, and commercial bank-based local conglomerates; and (4) strict governance of labor forces. This specific “set of institutions” not only defined the characteristics of Thai capitalism known as the “banker’s capitalism” but also related to the fluctuations of the "long waves" between 1957 and 1997
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