Showing 21 - 30 of 37
Economy trapped in mire of corruption
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 04/09/2013
» With growth stalling everywhere, including in the middle-income countries and especially the once high-flying Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping, discussions about the nature of the middle-income trap and how to get out of it have again come to the fore.
We're not even close to achieving democracy
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 03/07/2013
» With the government of Cuba relaxing many aspects of its rule, one may be tempted to conclude that democracy will soon completely triumph over dictatorship, just over two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall. That, however, is hardly the case, according to William J Dobson.
Face of change needs more than a mask
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 05/06/2013
» Wearing a Guy Fawkes mask as a way of holding one's nose against the government seems to have caught on.
Debt aside, economy looks a lot like Greece's
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 01/05/2013
» When the current eurozone crisis reached Greece, many Thais asked whether what was happening over there could happen here.
For Thailand, 'midway' is the better way
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 06/03/2013
» Over the years, among the books that I have strongly recommended are two written by Professor Jared Diamond _ Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or to Succeed. Both have been translated into Thai. For those who cannot spare the time to read these rather hefty books, brief excerpts can be found in the book entitled Kalapiwat.
Our road to sustainability grows ever rockier
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 06/02/2013
» Last week, former US vice president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore published perhaps another bestseller entitled, The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change. From the pre-publication announcement, it was not clear what the six drivers might be. While waiting for my pre-publication order to be delivered, I saw his brief interview with the BBC.
Moderation provides key to happiness
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 02/01/2013
» On June 6 of last year, I wrote in this column that the Great Recession starting in 2008 was bad for most people except those who wrote about it. Dozens of books have been published and I mentioned three that had interested me in particular _ two by Joseph Stiglitz and one by Jeffrey Sachs. These books ask more fundamental questions than most about the causes of the current economic problems.
Pawning rice is worse than pawning Thailand
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 05/12/2012
» Since the launching of the rice-pawning scheme a few months ago ("pawning" is not only a correct translation of the Thai word jam nam but also reflects the sense of the scheme better than the "pledging" that many writers have used), two areas have been analysed most thoroughly: its potential impact on the budget and national debt, resulting from the large losses that will occur, and the corruption that is due to happen at various steps of the scheme. Some analysts go so far as to say that losses from this scheme will bankrupt the country and pawning rice is tantamount to pawning the country.
Start at the local level to avert apocalypse
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 07/11/2012
» According to one interpretation of the Mayan calendar, there will be a cataclysmic event that causes the end of the world this year, probably on Dec 21.
Agricultural policy fails to address land grab
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 03/10/2012
» Afew years back, foreign investors scouting for large swaths of land to plant rice and eucalyptus trees backed off after encountering strong local opposition. Anecdotal reports indicate that they have not given up altogether but may be working through Thai fronts to achieve the same end. With warm weather year round, fertile soil, and ample supplies of water, Thailand remains a target for foreigners interested not only in securing industrial raw materials and food supplies but also in obtaining a higher rate of return on their investment.