Pandemic in the land of the smile: the case of COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand in 2020

For more than a decade, it is has been a key challenge among the policymakers of Thailand to transform its economy from a middle income to an upper-income one. Many factors worked as impediments to this transition. Then came the COVID-19 outbreak both globally including in Thailand. The crisis has exposed the structural problems of the Thai economy and society. The crisis not only affected the export and tourism-based economy, the lives and livelihoods of those dependent on these sectors have also been badly affected. As elsewhere, the crisis's worst victims are the Thai poor and the Thai state struggled to provide them assistance. Some possible measures to better protect the vulnerable in the crises are also discussed.