by Ramon C. Sevilla and Kusol Soonthornthada
Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University. 2000
The aim of this preliminary study is to develop a better understanding of the background and objectives of the recently formulated SME policy of the Thai government. A total of 27 respondents representing industry associations, government agencies and political parties were interviewed to obtain a sense of the “fit” between the proposed government policy and the actual situation on the ground. The research was approached from the point of view of assessing the relevance of applying the “industrial cluster” paradigm to SME development in the case of Bangkok. It is too early to tell whether the SME Promotion Law will prove successful since it was only approved by parliament last January 12, 2000 while the SME Master Development Plan was approved by the Cabinet last April 11, 2000. However, we identified important problematic issues in the SME promotion law in its present formulation that needs to be clarified and resolved. We conclude with a few tentative observations and recommendations for clarifying SME objectives and stress the need to encourage closer public-private coordination in SME policy formulation and implementation.
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