Showing 1 - 3 of 3
Pheu Thai's cash handouts a likely flop
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 24/08/2023
» The title of this article says it all. Pheu Thai Party's flagship economic stimulus policy of handing out 10,000 baht to all Thais aged above 16 years old, with an estimated cost of 560 billion baht, will most likely fail to stimulate (or jump-start) the economy from the recent economic slump.
Lessons from the 1997 economic crisis
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 01/04/2021
» Today is April Fools' day. But there is no fooling about the threat of liquidity crisis. I am sure that many readers are sceptical about the possibility of a liquidity crunch in this country. First, the government debt to GDP ratio is less than 60% which is not high by international standards. Second, Thailand now, unlike in 1997, has adopted a flexible exchange rate system which has a low risk of currency speculation. And, third, the country has international reserves equivalent to 11 months of imports of goods and services which is two times higher than IMF's suggested requirement. How could an economy this good be at risk?
Government spends its way into trouble
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 04/03/2021
» The 2021 Budget Bill, covering the period of Oct 1 2020 to Sept 30 2021, authorises the government to borrow up to 609 billion baht to cover its fiscal deficit -- 140 billion baht higher than the 2020 borrowing limit. In the bill, revenue is estimated to be 2.7 trillion baht (an 11.4% increase from the previous year's actual collection) and expenditure is budgeted to be 3.3 trillion baht (7.1% increase from the previous year's actual spending).