Moving the AEC Beyond 2015.

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is Thailand' s current priority and the AEC Blueprint is being progressively implemented in the country. However, different domestic economic interests have contributed to the slow pace of implementation. Three case studies--the agricultural sector, the logistics industry, and the mobility of medical professionals--are used to illustrate this. To move the AEC beyond 2015 and to enhance consensus-building during the community-building process, this paper puts forth the following policy recommendations: (i) the Thai government should enhance awareness of the community-building process and convey more details about the AEC to stakeholders and the general public; (ii) closer consultation and more integrated relationships between the government and stakeholders should be fostered; (iii) the government should formulate policies to improve the competitiveness of the affected stakeholders and industries to reduce the adverse impact from the AEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]