Showing 11 - 20 of 851
'Time tax' rises despite modern tech innovations
Oped, Published on 04/07/2024
» Despite the rapid proliferation of artificial-intelligence chatbots and virtual assistants, finding an answer to a question that a company's software is not programmed to address can be frustrating. Searching through countless options on price-comparison websites for the best insurance policy or airline ticket can be equally exhausting. Yet, we tend to view this "time tax" as the cost of doing business in today's digitised global economy.
Farm plan won't work
Oped, Published on 29/06/2024
» Despite much criticism, the cabinet has decided to go ahead with its expensive fertiliser co-payment scheme.
Old guard prevails in Senate elections
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 29/06/2024
» For those wishing for a wind of change in Thai politics, the Wednesday Senate election was a disappointment. Old power factions made substantial gains, dominating some 70% of the seats for the 200-member Upper House, while those representing the pro-democracy force grabbed just a few.
Democracy really needs to be more pro-worker
Oped, Published on 25/06/2024
» Even if the feared extremist wave did not quite materialise in the European Parliament election this month, the far right performed well in Italy, Austria, Germany, and especially France. Moreover, its latest gains have come on the heels of major shifts toward far-right parties in Hungary, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, and Sweden, among others.
Time to focus on public housing
News, Published on 25/06/2024
» Gains by far-right parties in this month's European Union elections should serve as a reminder of the dangers of failing to address the region's chronic problems of inadequate housing supply and worsening affordability. Few other issues have greater potential to damage the social fabric and undermine democracy.
More women needed at the top
News, Published on 17/06/2024
» Mexico has just elected its first female president, following a rare contest between two women, and a record number of women were recently elected to South Korea's National Assembly. But while these results represent welcome gains for gender equality, they are outliers. The broader picture is disheartening.
Thailand's weed legalisation dilemma
Oped, Published on 05/06/2024
» When cannabis or ganja was legalised (the plant was removed from the illicit drugs list) in 2022 by the Prayut Chan-o-cha government, this led to mass confusion whereby the public misunderstood and perceived it as "liberalisation". This resulted in widespread and unregulated cannabis consumption.
All homes grow old and China will get used to it
News, Shuli Ren, Published on 01/06/2024
» Chinese love new apartment buildings, my real estate agent told me last year as I was looking to buy property in Hong Kong. Seeing herself as an investment adviser of sorts, she was breaking down my exit options, such as flipping it to a mainland investor a few years later.
The lasting legacy of Abenomics
Oped, Koichi Hamada, Published on 31/05/2024
» After the 1985 Plaza Accord pushed the yen's exchange rate sharply upwards, Japan's economy suffered a severe slowdown that proved mightily difficult to reverse. In fact, the only prime minister to oversee a period of consistent growth and high employment in the past three decades was Shinzo Abe, during his second term, which began in 2012.
Beyond the hype: Gauging AI's true economic impact
Oped, Published on 30/05/2024
» According to tech leaders and many pundits and academics, artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform the world as we know it through unprecedented productivity gains. While some believe that machines soon will do everything humans can do, ushering in a new age of boundless prosperity, other predictions are at least more grounded. For example, Goldman Sachs predicts that generative AI will boost global GDP by 7% over the next decade, and the McKinsey Global Institute anticipates that the annual GDP growth rate could increase by 3-4 percentage points between now and 2040. For its part, The Economist expects that AI will create a blue-collar bonanza.