Patrick Walsh pointed out that structural adjustment studies look at bank of payments data in Ireland. In the 1960s and 1970s, export-oriented industries became import-dependent for intermediate parts. There was a move to try to get local industries to produce such parts. When looking at the title of the paper, “The Rise and Fall of Thailand's Export-Oriented Industries,” Walsh asked, why did it happen? In connection with this, he asked two questions: How mobile is FDI? and How about tariffs? The paper discusses why certain export-oriented industries failed, but there is a need to understand the external factors causing the problems on the export side.
Eric Girardin pointed out that the paper needs to use panel data to see the data on shares of supply and demand.
Guy Lin asked whether the political disturbance in Thailand may affect new FDI.
Maria Socorro Gochoco-Bautista asked whether there are constitutional limits on...