Politics
Economists Warn Thailand Lacks Safety Net in Downturn
The economists, from the Thailand Development Research Institute, a private sector funded think tank, said up to 30 percent of the population of 63 million is either poor or vulnerable to economic shocks, with most living in provincial regions.
Economists say crisis would hit ‘grassroots,’ low income populations, hardest. A university study predicts the Thai economy will contract over the first and second quarters of 2009 by up to five percent.
This stands in contrast to the earlier predicted forecast of up to four percent growth. Now there are warnings of unemployment reaching over one million people. Thai economists, in a paper to the United Nations this week, said the crisis would hit the “grassroots,” low income populations, the hardest.
The economists, from the Thailand Development Research Institute, a private sector funded think tank, said up to 30 percent of the population of 63 million is either poor or vulnerable to economic shocks, with most living in provincial regions.
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Economists Warn Thailand Lacks Safety Net in Downturn
Politics
Thailand falls to 73rd position in Economist’s Democracy Index
Within Southeast Asia, Thailand’s score regressed in 2020, falling to 73rd from 68th, including those related to the treatment of the opposition and to curbs on freedom of expression.
Democracy in sickness and in health? is the title of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Democracy Index report, which looks at the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on freedom and democracy around the world.
Myanmar
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Politics
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