Showing 1 - 10 of 15
Whither populism?
Business, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 16/01/2026
» Compared with the previous election, when some parties promised to distribute hundreds of billions of baht in cash and others pledged infrastructure projects worth trillions, the level of populism in campaign pledges during this election appears to have declined, which academics see as a positive development.
Effort to ease digital wallet merchant rules
Business, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 13/02/2025
» The Finance Ministry is looking into easing the cash out requirements for merchants participating in the digital wallet scheme to enhance accessibility and boost its appeal.
Pundit urges end to big-ticket measures
Business, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 09/12/2024
» The government is advised to halt implementing big-ticket stimulus measures as the economy is on track for continued recovery, according to the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).
Funding in place for 2nd phase of digital handout
Business, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 01/10/2024
» Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul has confirmed that the government has sufficient funding for the second phase of the digital wallet scheme, with a budget of 180 billion baht having already been allocated.
Digital wallet registration prepared
Business, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 06/07/2024
» The government is scheduled to announce the registration process for granting rights to people for the digital wallet project by the end of this month.
Populism hits plan to rein in fiscal red ink
Business, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 10/06/2019
» The Finance Ministry is likely to delay its balanced budget goal if the new government strictly pursues populist campaign promises, says a senior official at the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO).
Welfare not a banquet, but a necessity
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 07/03/2019
» The ongoing election campaign is seeing all competing political parties make ambitious promises to turn Thailand into a welfare state to entice their prospective supporters.
Poverty is not a political commodity
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 14/02/2019
» As the election is drawing near, most if not all political parties are making eradicating poverty and closing the economic gap their flagship policy, rolling out enticing populist programmes in the hope of winning the hearts and minds of voters.
FPO proposes debt test to screen welfare smartcard recipients
Business, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 14/12/2018
» The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) has floated the idea of adding debt burden to the criteria in screening recipients for the government's welfare and subsidy scheme for the poor in an effort to weed out cheats.
Rethinking our attitude towards populism
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 06/12/2018
» The new package intended for the poor, valued at 38 billion baht issued by the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration ahead of the election, is seen by critics as a populist tactic aimed at maximising political gain. Yet in my opinion, it's time we took a new look or changed our attitude toward populist policies. The fact is that all governments, elected or not, tend to embrace populism and even though some packages may not benefit the middle class, populist policies are just inevitable.