Economic governance in Thailand Student Activities Case Study Teacher's Notes Research the causes and history of the Asian Financial Crisis and prepare one of the following: A time line A flow chart A concept map Collect a range of current economic and social data on Thailand (see Resources section) and assess to what extent Thailand has recovered from the economic crisis. Use the data to support your conclusions. Make a list of the likely key features of a poorly governed country as follows: Poor governance Corruption Lack of law and order. Continue the list and then explain why each of these features would discourage investment (both foreign and local) and hinder economic growth and development. Explain what is meant by the term 'civil society' and outline the various ways in which one can be encouraged. Use some Australian examples as a starting point. List the key characteristics of 'good governance' and then collect evidence for and against the statement that Australia is a well-governed country with a strong civil society. A continuation of this activity could be to hold a class debate on the subject. Outline some of the difficulties a country could face trying to transform itself from a 'poor governance' country to a 'good governance' one. Do a CAF thinking exercise* CAF stands for Consider All Factors. What obstacles (political, economic, social and institutional) might have to be overcome? Write a report for a poorly governed country which is contemplating reform. Referring to recent research, clearly explain the benefits of reform. Also incorporate examples of recent reforms in Thailand and elsewhere to support your arguments. Develop a reform time line indicating which key reforms you would start with. Explain your choices. Working in small groups, imagine you are a consortium of wealthy international investors looking for a new country to invest in. Using textas and butchers paper do a CAF exercise. List all the factors you would need to consider before deciding where to invest. Also make a list of the most important economic and social data you would want to examine about a country before going ahead with the investment. Compare your results with the rest of the class. Explain how the financial and economic reforms being undertaken in Thailand should help prevent the emergence of another Asian Crisis. Thailand is pursuing an ambitious program of microeconomic reforms such as privatisation and corporatisation designed to increase competition in the economy. Explain how this increased competition can help to reduce corruption, and increase international competitiveness. Compare Thailand's microeconomic reforms with Australia's, looking for similarities and differences under a range of headings such as financial reform, transport, communications, utilities and so on. Summarise the benefits Australia has gained from the microeconomic reform process. Research another country affected by the Asian Crisis and compare both its economic recovery to Thailand's and its response to the crisis. Working in groups, do a Concept Challenge thinking exercise.* Make a list of the concepts that are taken for granted about aid projects. Does this case study challenge those concepts in any way? Complete a PMI exercise* on the following idea (i.e. list the plus points, minus points and interesting points) 'that foreign aid should only be given to countries that have carried out major governance reforms and no help given to poorly governed countries'. Working in groups, do a C & S exercise * (consequence and sequel) on the aid project outlined in the case study using the following time line: Immediate consequences (up to a year) Short-term consequences (1-5 years) Medium-term consequences (5-25 years) Long-term consequences (over 25 years) Note: these time zones can be varied. *thinking techniques devised by Dr. Edward de Bono   Top © Commonwealth of Australia