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The Office of the Vice Chancellor for
Research and Economic Development
Research areas related to K.I.Asia
Compiled by Paul Wedel, executive director of K.I.Asia. In addition to the research areas presented here, K.I.Asia may be able to suggest researchers in leading Thai universities with interests in other research areas.
Business and Finance
- Development of Southeast Asian SMEs to small and medium-sized companies and their impacts; the impact of policies supporting small companies in Thailand, particularly
under the Thaksin government: K.I.Asia has participated in some of
these programs and has useful contacts at the Ministry of Industry
and the SME Bank. These policies have included:
- the creation of an SME bank to provide specialized lending to SMEs
- a program of firm-specific consulting for SMEs called Thai Business
- a program encouraging small, rural industries called Product
- Microfinance in Vietnam, Cambodia and
Thailand: Looking at the effectiveness of a variety of programs
providing very small loans to rural people. In Vietnam, the Bank
for Social Policy has utilized a large network of organizations to
funnel small loans to rural entrepreneurs to support grass roots
capitalism. K.I.Asia has useful contacts at the Bank for Social Policy. In
Cambodia, microfinance programs have led to the establishment of a
full service bank for rural people. In Thailand the Thai
government created microfinance funds in 70,000 villages. The
usefulness of these microfinance funds has been a matter of political
controversy and the next government will need to decide whether to
continue, modify or end them. K.I.Asia has
worked with the Fiscal Policy Office to train some fund managers.
The Asian Development Bank Institute, the World Bank Institute and
other funders may be interested in support.
- Competitive strategies: Thailand has tried to utilize the cluster theories of
Michael E. Porter to improve the competitiveness of selected Thai
businesses. However, different arms of the government have used
different definitions of clusters and different approaches.
K.I.Asia has worked with the National Economic and Social
Development Board to map existing Thai clusters and has worked
with particular clusters including leather, gems, vegetables,
seafood, and tourism to develop competitiveness strategies.
- Changing supply chains and new connectivity through Laos: New
roads, bridges and water routes have improved transport through
Laos, connecting China, Thailand and Vietnam. These new logistics
possibilities are beginning to impact company location and trade
patterns.
- Airport use:
The move to Suvarnabhumi has left the former international
airport at Don Muang vastly underutilized. Research on the impact
of these changes and the opportunities to maximize the use of the
two airports may be of interest to the Thai government scheduled
to come to office after the December elections. K.I.Asia and the
Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise have contacts within the
Airport Authority of Thailand and the National Economic and Social
Development Board.
- Corporate Social Responsibility: an increasingly
important issue in Thailand and Vietnam as economies develop in
both countries. The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission has
set up a CSR Working Group to make CSR policy recommendations to
the Thai government. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is
establishing a standards, training and research to listed companies. K.I.Asia is
working with both the SET and the SEC on these efforts.
Economics
- Thailand: Thailand embarked on expansionist, activist economic policies under Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but since his overthrow, the military-appointed government has tried to set a more modest course, influenced by the king. Economic growth has slowed, but continues to be driven by exports. What are the impacts and longer term implications of these policy changes? The government scheduled to come to power in 2008 will have to decide how to deal with these divergent economic policy approaches.
- Vietnam: After a false start in the early 1990s, Vietnam has shown strong economic growth and has successfully attracted significant foreign investment, despite the continued one-party rule of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Can economic progress continue without political reform? Can Vietnam emulate the economic successes of China without it environmental and social strains?
Public Health
- Drug-resistant disease: Thailand and Cambodia have seen steady increases in multi-drug
resistant malaria. There are now few drugs in reserve to treat
such resistant strains. What are the causes of drug resistance,
how much of a threat do such strains hold for the rest of the
world and what can be done to limit the growth of drug resistance?
K.I.Asia works with the ministries of health in the area on these
issues and with the US Pharmacopoeia to deal with drug resistance.
- Avian Influenza: Southeast Asia and Southern China have seen some of the worst
outbreaks of Avian Influenza. What measures are being taken and
how effective are they? K.I.Asia has worked with both the
ministries of health and the school systems in the region on AI
and has good contacts for researchers.
- HIV/AIDS: Thailand has been a leader in innovative public health policies
and mechanisms to combat HIV/AIDS for nearly two decades. Its
successes and failures may provide useful lessons.
- Licensing patented medicines: Thailand has invoked its rights to compel licensing of certain
patented medicines, creating significant controversy. What are the
impacts of these actions on patient health? On the availability of
medicine? On the policies of international pharmaceutical companies?
Environment
- Urbanization has put major strains on the environment, particularly tropical forests. The demand for energy is leading to the utilization of most viable sources of hydro-electric power. These impacts need to be studied to provide input for policy makers seeking to balance growth with environmental preservation.
- Renewable fuels: Thailand is becoming a leader in the region in the production of renewable fuels, especially bio-diesel and gasohol. However, there has been little study of the impacts of widespread use of these renewable fuels on the environment. How do they impact land use? Will the use of these fuels increase the pressure on remaining forests? What will be the impact on air quality in crowded cities?
Education
- Information technology: In the past decade Thailand has tried to move towards more
information technology in schools. These efforts have had mixed results. What have been the impacts? What further changes are needed?
- Teaching science: K.I.Asia is working with the Merck Institute for Science Education and the Thai Ministry of Education to improve the teaching of science by offering methodologies, materials and training that lead to more "inquiry-based learning." What has been the impact of these changes? How can they be scaled up from efforts in a few dozen schools in one province to meet the needs of more than 4,000 high schools nationwide?
Other topics
There are also many other topics of interest which do not involve K.I.Asia directly, but for which the Institute can provide some limited assistance in finding research partners and access to information. These include:
- History: There are opportunities to research aspects of the Vietnam War which U.S. history books have largely examined from a U.S. perspective with largely U.S. sources of information.
- Religion: Thailand raises questions about Islam in predominantly Buddhist society. What are the religious as opposed to the political and ethnic elements involved? What policy questions are raised in dealing with Muslim communities? Buddhism itself is straining to adapt to a more urbanized, more globalized Buddhist population. Recent trends towards enthusiasm for Buddhist amulets suggest backward movements towards a more simplistic and animistic version of Buddhist belief.
