Introduction

Few people disagree that Thailand has made impressive strides back to robust economic health over the past three years. Whether the growth is sustainable over the longer term is a topic that prompts lively debate.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, with his CEO style and his penchant for bold ideas, perhaps gets more credit abroad than at home for the approach he has taken to building a more solid foundation for the economy. Some of his initiatives have been highly popular as well as successful.

There are grounds for optimism that the economy continues to purr along despite external pressures such as soaring oil prices and domestic shocks including unrest in the South and bird flu. Pessimists will argue that the fiscal pump-priming that is a feature of Thaksinomics will one day leave the country saddled with bills it can't pay.

With an election due within six months, the government is stepping up activity on policy fronts where it believes it can win favour with voters. But some other initiatives that represent political flashpoints _ did someone mention privatisation? _ will be studiously avoided.

Meanwhile, Thaksinomics will continue to provide experts with fodder for debate. Some of the bold initiatives at its core have met with remarkable short-term success. The longer-term impact and legacy of Thaksinomics will take more time to assess, as economists Kitti Limskul and Sansern Samalapa argue in columns written specially for this publication on pages 14 and 15.

Elsewhere in the Mid-Year Economic Review, Bangkok Post writers look at the impact government policies have had on a variety of sectors crucial to the country's prosperity and future.