Abstract:
The study is to examine whether or not the interest rate spreads have the predictive power on economic growth in Thailand during 1997-2000. The interest rates spreads are catagorized into 3 groups as (1) the interest rate spreads with the difference in risk, (2) the interest rates with the difference in maturity and (3) the loan-deposit spread. The study proceeded Ordinary Least Square (OLS) as the econometric methods to examine each group of the relationship between the interest rate spreads and the economic growth by testing with the percentage change of GDP, private investment and private consumption for the whole period of time during 1997-2000. The study also tests the relationship before and after the economic crisis which the study had considered the second quarter of year 2000 as the breakpoint reflecting the economic crisis. The statistical results showed that the interest rate spreads between financial company and commercial bank, the interest rate spreads of government bond with difference in maturity could explain a change in economic growth. The loan-deposit rate had a predictive power on the change in the percentage change of GDP and private investment greatly before and after the crisis. Therefore, the effective monetary policy should be implemented to keep loan-deposit spread in a proper gap for that spread is the important sign in reflecting the cost and risk of the money in the economic system which has a crucial effect on the change of private investment, private consumption and eventually to economic growth of the country.