Showing 81 - 90 of 100
Prayut's cash splurge flawed short-termism
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 26/11/2018
» Last week, the Prayut Chan-o-cha cabinet approved another massive handout, totalling 100 billion baht, to help the poor. The assistance package also covers an increase in pensions for retired civil servants and low-interest loans to people who want to buy new houses.
Govt ridicules itself
News, Postbag, Published on 05/11/2018
» Re: "‘Lame’ government rap responds to ‘Prathet Ku Mee’", (BP, Nov 2).
Policing cyberspace
News, Published on 20/10/2018
» Re: "Cyber bill outcry puts PM on defensive", (BP, Oct 18).
Marriage in China breaks the bank
News, Adam Minter, Published on 01/10/2018
» Getting married isn't cheap in China. In Da'anliu, a small farming village outside Beijing, the local "bride price" -- the fee that a groom's family pays to a bride's in advance of their nuptials -- recently breached the US$30,000 mark (972,000 baht). That's extreme for a village where incomes average $2,900 per year. So, this summer, local officials decreed that bride prices and associated wedding expenses shouldn't exceed $2,900. Violators will be treated as human traffickers.
Birth rewards fail the test
News, Editorial, Published on 26/09/2018
» The government's plan to encourage more births by young couples, forlorn from the start, has produced nothing. It's a familiar scene. From Singapore and China, from Europe and now Thailand, planners have dreamed of reversing the ageing of their countries. While it may seem logical to some, it has failed everywhere it has been tried. Failure in Thailand seems certain as well.
Three liberal prophets of doom
News, John Lloyd, Published on 31/07/2018
» Liberal democratic institutions and states are under sustained pressure, from outside and from within. The question now is how well liberal and democratic defences can withstand the onslaught.
Protectionism not good for growth
News, Nilanjan Banik & Pierto Paganini, Published on 09/07/2018
» We are passing through an interesting time. There is a likelihood that trade war between two of the world's biggest economies -- China and USA -- may blow out of proportion. The consequence may be another economic downturn in the offing. During an economic crisis, consumers spend less, and investors do not invest (or postpone their investment decisions). There is a general sense of pessimism about future earning prospects, leading to higher unemployment and lower productivity growth.
Chinese savers won't save China
News, Christopher Balding, Published on 09/07/2018
» Chinese are, in the popular imagination as well as some economic statistics, inveterate savers. According to the International Monetary Fund, the Chinese savings rate stood at an astonishing 46% in 2016, compared to a global average around 25%. Chinese planners have long sought to bring that ratio down in order to promote consumption and ease the economy's overreliance on investment. If only Chinese would shop more, the thinking goes, China wouldn't need to rely on smokestack factories and boondoggle infrastructure projects to drive growth.
Act now on ageing society before it's too late
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 05/07/2018
» In the next three years, people aged over 60 in Thailand will account for 13.8 million, or 20% of the population. This means in a group of five, there will be one elderly person. In demographic science, a country where 20% of its people are aged 60 years old or higher is categorised as an ageing society.