Showing 51 - 60 of 61
Virus outbreak comes at the worst time
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 30/01/2020
» The coronavirus outbreak is not the first time the world has experienced an infectious disease at pandemic level. The first well-documented pandemic was the Plague of Justinian that struck in the 6th Century. The plague killed 25-50 million people which was a lot given the population then.
New Year economic wishfulness
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 02/01/2020
» 'Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could." Of course, many will recognise these song lyrics from the motion picture The Sound of Music. But this phrase actually dates back to ancient Greece and the time of Aristotle. It is a foundation of all science: nothing can be created out of nothing. Economic science also follows this principle strictly. For a better economy, we first need a better economic environment. Thus, for a better economy this year, we need a better economic environment than in 2019. Will that be the case for Thailand?
Stagflation is now a reality for Thailand
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 19/12/2019
» I first encountered this word, a combination of "stagnation" and "inflation", in an economics textbook. Stagflation depicts an unusual situation whereby an economy experiences both a slowdown and high inflation at the same time. A textbook example is the US economy of the early 1970s, which suffered 9% unemployment along with 12% inflation. The culprit was a doubling of world oil prices which pushed the US economy into a recession and raised the cost of goods and services.
The vicious economic cycle has begun
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 05/12/2019
» Do not be surprised to see the government constantly coming out with economic good news such as its claims there are more factories opening than closing and more jobs being created. Or that the government is confident the bottom has been reached and a brighter economic outlook is set for next year. It is their job to create hope, while it is also my job to give readers the real economic picture. These pieces of information are accurate but, unfortunately, their stories do not go along with the real numbers. And remember, numbers never lie.
Time to bring the baht to heel for sake of economy
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 22/11/2019
» Complaints about the strong baht are growing louder by the month. Many are puzzled at why Thailand's currency keeps appreciating despite a weakening economy and falling exports. At the beginning of the year, the US dollar/baht rate was at 32.33. As of Wednesday, the baht had strengthened to 30.18 per dollar.
Is it all the Bank of Thailand's fault?
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 12/09/2019
» Currently, the two most pressing economic issues in Thailand are the appreciation of the baht and the high level of household debt.
Economy faces 4 key hurdles this year
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 01/08/2019
» The first half of 2019 has already passed and it is a well-known fact that the Thai economy is not in good shape. GDP growth has plummeted from 3.7% in the last quarter of 2018 to 2.8% in the first quarter of this year. Although second-quarter GDP growth will be officially announced soon, raw economic data from April to June indicates a weaker second quarter, particularly in the areas of exports and tourism.
Online trading spells massive job losses
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 18/07/2019
» By writing about Sampheng, Bangkok's premier wholesale market, this column does not want to stress the weakness of the economy. It is pointless to keep whining about the sluggishness of the economy as it is already a well-known fact. Even the government can see the true picture of the economy by simply looking at its tax revenues. Poor-performing businesses do not pay taxes and jobless people also do not pay taxes.
'Debt Jubilee' a stop-gap for demand ills
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 06/06/2019
» Today's article is about a type of "Helicopter Money" policy to boost domestic demand which could be suitable for the Thai economy, at least for the time being.
Productivity slump behind Thailand's economic woes
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 23/05/2019
» Many of you might be waiting to read about an effective "helicopter money" policy to boost the Thai economy as I mentioned in my previous article. Of course, I have reached my conclusion on that strategy but I beg readers to wait and read today's article first. The reason is that without properly understanding the "real" economic problems, a demand-stimulating policy such as helicopter money would become useless and could do more harm than good.