Economic planners and government officials in Thailand
face a major decision: whether to encourage a NIC's (Newly
Industrialized Country) type of strategy based on manufacturing
exports from the urbanized central region, which will probably
require increasing dependence on foreign investment and
technology, especially from Japan; or follow a NAIC's (Newly
Agro-Industrialized Country) type of strategy based on agroindustry
exports, which will probably mean less rapid growth
overall but an improvement in rural conditions as well as more
independence through investment from internal sources. This
article examines this choice from the perspective of Thailand as
well as Japan, its largest source of aid and foreign investment.
We argue that a combination of manufacturing and agroindustries
is necessary for continued development and that this
will require more cooperation between Thailand and Japan as
well as more Japanese assistance.