News
6 provinces in Thailand suffer persistent poverty, as gaps get smaller in some, NESDC report reveals
A recent report from the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) revealed that efforts to address poverty and inequality in Thailand have not been entirely successful.Despite an overall reduction in inequality, some provinces are still grappling with persistent poverty issues, it found.NESDC, in collaboration ...
The Nation Reporter
World Bank report offers Thailand a primer on tackling inequality, poverty
Improvement in worker skills and increasing female participation in the labour force are some of the key recommendation for Thailand in the latest World Bank report released on Wednesday.The report, titled “Bridging the Gap: Inequality and Jobs in Thailand”, aims to provide a movement landscape ...
The Nation Reporter
Thailand’s COVID-19 suicide crisis shows the cost of inequality
As Thailand shut down its economy over COVID-19, millions have lost their income and the country has seen a spike in suicide attempts, sometimes as a form of protest. The crisis highlights the country’s deep inequality and points to the need for economic reform as ...
Poverty on the rise again as economy slows
The percentage of Thais living in poverty has fallen dramatically over the past three decades, from over 65% in 1988 to under 10% in 2018. However, that trend has reversed in recent years with stalled household incomes and consumption bringing a rise in poverty, according ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
Isaan human rights defenders between fight or flight
Over 300 people gathered at Ubon Ratchathani University on Monday to discuss the state of human rights in the Northeast and the country.The 10th Annual Isaan Human Rights Festival gathered communities from across the region, activists, scholars, students, and foreign diplomats. Ambassador of Sweden, Staffan ...
A Common Challenge: Geography and Inequality in Thailand and America
Economic inequality has become a major roadblock in Thailand’s path to prosperity and democracy. The massive development gap between the prosperous central and eastern seaboards and outlying agricultural regions has been a source of political division and unmet economic potential for decades. In Thailand’s northeast, ...
Thomas Parks
New study digs deep to shatter myths about Isaan
Persistently discounted as gullible, desperate, and unsophisticated, the 22 million inhabitants of Isaan–about a third of the country’s population–have long borne the brunt of bias from Thailand’s urban middle class.A new study by the Asia Foundation sets out to investigate if these biases hold any ...
Widening gap of wealth
Thailand is among the countries with the largest gap between the rich and the poor, with a disproportionate slice of the national wealth and income going to the wealthiest 1 percent of the population.Keep reading ...
Bridging the gaping wealth chasm
Although the military-led government has rolled out a raft of stimulus and relief measures to shore up the grassroots economy, spending and indebtedness among the underprivileged are still rampant. Keep reading ...
Wichit Chantanusornsiri
Debate swirls over yawning inequality gap
Regardless of what the latest annual Global Wealth Report by Credit Suisse (CS) says about financial inequality in Thailand, it is easy to see how wide the income gap has become. The CS 2018 report just states the facts. What matters is whether we are ...
Soonruth Bunyamanee