An Assessment of Overlapping Regulations and Administrative Agencies’ Authority: Case Studies of the Response to External Factors

Abstract

The objectives of this research article are to review laws relating to industrial sector, to consider the status of those laws and to provide recommendations on resolving problems arising from such laws. The research found that Thai laws relating to industrial sector are in a great number, including laws governing directly on industrial sector, laws on commerce and laws on labor. In addition, these laws are governed by a number of state agencies. These result in the redundancy of laws and state agency practices. They lead to the obstacle of industrial development as a whole. For these reasons, the research team proposes short-term and long-term resolutions. In a short term, the government would change its role from controller to supporter to entrepreneurs. Decreasing impediment in legal processes and enhancing the coordination among the government agencies would help creating entrepreneur’s capability to compete in the world market. In the long term, the government would review laws relating to industrial sector in order to modernize it and would improve its data to facilitate entrepreneur’s accessibility.