<p>It’s rather nice of the Bangkok Post to ensure that we get a regular dose of capitalist economics through a biweekly op-ed from the Thailand Development Research Institute, a corporate-funded think tank that can be trusted to think corporately.</p>

<div>For three years, the ruling junta has proposed ‘national reforms’ on different issues. Though the previous reforms, like political reform, police reform and education reform, have been criticized for driving the country backwards, the recent reform of the Bangkok bus system seems to be quite constructive.&nbsp;</div> <div> </div>

<p>Thai society will become an aging society before the country manages to move up from the middle-income trap, said an economist and a businessman.</p> <p>Dr Kirida Bhaopichitr, Director for International Research and Advisory Service of the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), has pointed out that according to current projections, Thailand will become an aged-society in about a decade from now, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BBCThai/posts/1777098255844540:0">BBC Thai</a>&nbsp;reported on Thursday, 26 May 2016.</p>

<div>In 2012, Ruchir Sharma wrote in his famous book called Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles about the aftermath of 2008 financial crisis, which had affected economies worldwide. In this book he predicted that not many countries would be able to maintain economic growth at the desirable rate throughout this decade. These fortunate few countries, including Thailand, were termed by him “breakout nations”. These nations, he argued, were likely to continue growing and becoming the next economic miracles. </div>

<p>The latest in-depth investigation into the Thai public health system shows much higher figures for maternal deaths and infant mortality than previously documented, revealing inequality in public health services despite the universal healthcare system.</p> <p>On Tuesday afternoon, 25 August 2015, the&nbsp;<a href="http://tdri.or.th/en/">Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI)</a>, a Thai public policy think tank, held a press briefing on a report of Thailand’s public health policies.</p>