Showing 1 - 8 of 8
Thailand must manage debt to progress
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 22/01/2026
» This article may be read as a continuation of my previous piece, Year of the Debt. That article focused mainly on household debt, which has already risen beyond the ability of Thai consumers to repay.
Stimulus packages need paradigm shift
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 03/10/2024
» Ever wonder why Thailand's economic growth is consistently lower than its peers? Even with a flood of foreign tourists of 28.1 million (154.4% growth) in 2023, our GDP growth was 1.9% compared to 5.5% in the Philippines, 5% in both Indonesia and Vietnam, and 3.7% in Malaysia. The growth figure for the first half of this year of 1.9% is far worse than many of our Asean friends.
Digital wallet scheme hits another snag
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 13/06/2024
» The new financing problem of the 10,000-baht cash handout, commonly known as the Digital Wallet Scheme (DW), has not made much noise in the media. This may be because the government wants this to be a non-issue, but in reality, it is a serious one that could wreck the entire scheme.
Reviving Thai economy is a tall order
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 27/07/2023
» By the time readers read this article, Thailand still does not have a real government. But judging from the game being played, it is not too hard to guess which party will lead a new government.
It's time to face grim Covid-19 reality
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 07/05/2020
» At the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, there emerged an outbreak containment option called "Hurt and then ending" which in Thai is jeb tae jop. The complete lockdown of Wuhan was a prime example of that. In Thailand, the lockdown measure was first implemented in Buri Ram before it become a standard practice nationwide. The effectiveness of the measures varies across the globe -- from a seemingly complete success story in Wuhan to a not-yet sustained success in Spain, to a success and then failure in Singapore. I do not think anybody doubts the effectiveness of the lockdown on controlling the outbreak, but many, including myself, are starting to come out and question the cost of lockdown, which I have previously mentioned.
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.
When honesty really is the best policy
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 24/10/2019
» The International Monetary Fund (IMF), my alma mater, appointed a new chief on Oct 1. The new Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, suddenly changes the "everything is okay" view on the world economy to "the world is about to collapse".
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.