{"title":"The Paradox of Thailand's Success in Controlling COVID-19","authors":"P. Tangkitvanich","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00799","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Thailand has been remarkably successful in containing COVID-19, limiting the number of total cases to only 3,400 and deaths to 59. Since June 2020, Thailand has had only one domestically transmitted case, successfully avoiding a second wave. This paper argues that Thailand's success could be attributed to the high public fear and strict border control at the initial stage, followed by the centralization of leadership, active involvement of health volunteers, the highly cautious phased lockdown lifting, and an effective response to threats of a second wave later. However, Thailand's economy is expected to contract by 8 percent—the largest in Southeast Asia. This appears to be a paradox that could be explained by Thailand's low potential GDP growth rate, high dependence on tourism, and overly strict measures used to contain the virus.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"71-100"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2020-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asian Economic Papers","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00799","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
Thailand has been remarkably successful in containing COVID-19, limiting the number of total cases to only 3,400 and deaths to 59. Since June 2020, Thailand has had only one domestically transmitted case, successfully avoiding a second wave. This paper argues that Thailand's success could be attributed to the high public fear and strict border control at the initial stage, followed by the centralization of leadership, active involvement of health volunteers, the highly cautious phased lockdown lifting, and an effective response to threats of a second wave later. However, Thailand's economy is expected to contract by 8 percent—the largest in Southeast Asia. This appears to be a paradox that could be explained by Thailand's low potential GDP growth rate, high dependence on tourism, and overly strict measures used to contain the virus.
期刊介绍:
The journal Asian Economic Papers (AEP) is supported by several prominent institutions, including the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University in the United States. This shows that there is a strong emphasis on sustainable development within the journal's scope. Additionally, the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy in South Korea, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) in Malaysia, and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia in Indonesia also sponsor AEP. The articles published in AEP focus on conducting thorough and rigorous analyses of significant economic issues pertaining to specific Asian economies or the broader Asian region. The aim is to gain a deeper understanding of these issues and provide innovative solutions. By offering creative solutions to economic challenges, AEP contributes to the discourse and policymaking that impact the Asian economies and region as a whole.