Showing 1 - 10 of 32
It's the economic history, stupid
Oped, Iker Saitua, Published on 14/01/2026
» Every year, I walk into a first-year lecture hall in Bilbao at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) and watch shoulders slump. The title of the course I'm teaching -- "Economic History" -- draws a similarly dejected reaction from my students: "Meh." "Boooring." "What's this even for?" Some call it "the history class", as if it belonged to another century.
Fair charter vote
Oped, Postbag, Published on 13/01/2026
» Re: "Somchai criticises EC's 'biased' info", (BP, Jan 12).
The end of China's one-child policy, 10 years later
Oped, Yi Fuxian, Published on 09/01/2026
» Jan 1 marked a decade since China repealed its one-child policy. Just ten days earlier, Peng Peiyun, who long oversaw the often-brutal enforcement of China's family-planning rules, died at the age of 96, having never been held accountable for her actions. Some obituaries praised Peng for being "reform-minded", even though, in practice, she only perpetuated an utterly inhumane policy, whose consequences have barely begun to materialise.
The incalculable costs of corrupt statistics
Oped, Diane Coyle, Published on 29/08/2025
» With GDP and employment figures dominating political debates, it is easy to forget that they are hardly timeless truths. In fact, how we measure progress has shifted dramatically over time. The Physiocrats -- eighteenth-century French economists who saw agriculture as the source of all wealth -- regarded farms' output as the most important economic indicator. The Soviet Union, for its part, focused exclusively on goods production and ignored services altogether.
Victory for the few
Oped, Postbag, Published on 06/08/2025
» Re: "Thais will not slash all tariffs: Paopoom voices fear of hit to industries", (BP, July 18).
Hamas exploits humanitarian aid
Oped, Orna Sagiv, Published on 01/08/2025
» Across Gaza, humanitarian aid is urgently needed. Yet much of it fails to reach the people for whom it is intended. Instead, international assistance is routinely hijacked by Hamas -- a reality enabled by the troubling complicity of the United Nations.
Insurance saga shocks
Oped, Editorial, Published on 28/07/2025
» A seemingly minor news story last week sparked widespread public concern about fairness in Thailand's health insurance industry.
The roadway to enabling governance
Oped, Peerasit Kamnuansilpa, Published on 30/04/2025
» On May 11, communities across Thailand will vote in 2,469 municipal elections. Despite these polls being routine, they are a pivotal test of the country's commitment to moral leadership and enabling governance at the grassroots level.
Welfare fraud must end
Oped, Editorial, Published on 02/04/2025
» A whistleblower's report about the massive pharmaceutical fraud involving government officials and medical staff at the Veterans General Hospital shows the need to investigate claims filed with state medical facilities, especially in light of the ballooning medical welfare budget.
Growth requires getting PPPs right
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato, Published on 03/01/2025
» The United Kingdom's Labour government has given serious thought to the public investment needed to get the economy back on track after 14 years of austerity, neglect of social infrastructure, and capital flight triggered by Brexit and uncertain economic conditions.