Crisis In Thailand Research Articles

A Test of Purchasing Power Parity Efficiency in Vietnam and Other Southeastern Asian Countries

We have tested the existence of PPP between Vietnam and four main trading partners of Vietnam in ASEAN. With a different approach compared to existing researches in the literature, we showed existence of PPP between Vietnam and Singapore (SIN), Thailand (THA) and Philippines (PHI) but not between Vietnam and Malaysia (MAL). The PPP theory can exist or not, depending on a variety of influences. The main influence is the country's exchange rate policy. According to IMF, after the economic crisis in Thailand in 1997, other Southeastern Asian countries have changed their exchange rate policies from fixed rate with USD to floating rate (THA, PHI) or flexible rate (SIN). In the case of Malaysia, the exchange rate policy is not stable but changes from fixed rate with USD (2003) to floating rate in control (2008) and since 2012, the Malaysian central bank has controlled and announced the exchange rate daily. In the mean time, the exchange rate of Vietnam has been steadily fixed with USD. This implies that VND has not changed much compared to the other 4 currencies, but inflation in Vietnam has changed dramatically in the period of this research. Because of this, VND has been likely to be overpriced, especially when compared to MYR, VND is overpriced to 40%.

Analysis of Drainage Capacity and Flood Risk Areas for Integrated Urban Planning of Sam Khok District, Pathumthani Province

After flood crisis in Thailand in 2011, Department of public works and town planning improved the regulation for urban planning to include flood protection plan in the urban planning. The aim of this paper is to present an analysis of the drainage capacity and flood-risk areas for integrated urban planning of Sam Khok district, Pathum Thani province. The main cause of flooding in this area is overbank from Chao Phraya River. The topography, climate, hydrological and historical flood data of study areas are collected for analysis. Rational method is used to analyze drainage capacity of 12 main canals from total 87 canals by using design rainfall with 5 years return period from Don Muang station. The results show that the drainage capacity of 4 canals (Koi Mai, Bang Pho Neor, Khok Ta Kraw and Khu) are not enough. Flood risk index is calculated to draw flood risk map representing 5 risk levels. The result shows that flood risk in the west of Sam Khok is very high, while flood risk in the southeast of Sam Khok is low. Combined results of flood risk analysis and drainage capacity of main canal are used to define canal plan with 4 sizes: 10, 20, 30 and 40 meter and space area for flood drainage in integrated urban planning of Sam Khok district.

Thai waste landfill site fire crisis, particular matter 10, and risk of lung cancer.

In March 2014, a big waste pollution occurs in Thailand. A big fire occurs at a big industrial waste landfill site, Phraeksa, Samut Prakan Province, Bangkok Metropolitan Region. This fire generates several pollutants, including particular matter 10 (PM10). According to the official report of the Bangkok Metropolis, the PM10 in the nearby area (5 km from the crisis area) is equal to 0.575 mg/m 3. The concern is on chronic health effect of PM10 exposure. Recently, the possible carcinogenic property of PM10 is mentioned. To estimate the cancer risk due to this crisis in Thailand, the author calculates the risk based on the ratio by Raaschou-Nielsen et al.; the risk is equal to 70.15 times. Based on the present study, a closed following up and monitoring on the problem of lung cancer in the future among the people living near the crisis area are needed.

A community-based approach to sharing knowledge before, during, and after crisis events: A case study from Thailand

This study adopts a structuration perspective to examine the knowledge sharing activities within local communities using social media to combat the 7-month 2011 Thai flood crisis using a qualitative case study. The crisis represented a unique situation wherein social media was used extensively during the most catastrophic flood crisis in Thailand. Data were collected from focus groups and in-depth interviews with flood victims, community leaders, NGOs, politicians, large enterprises, and Army leaders. The study divides the crisis event into three phases: pre-, during-, and post-crisis, treating each as both separate and interrelated, due to the changing information needs. The socialization and structuration theories were used as theoretical lenses to investigate how social media can play an important role in knowledge sharing activities in each phase of a crisis. The case study shows that social media can be adapted to fit the information and knowledge needs in each phase. This study's findings are useful and relevant for crisis managers, and clarify the potential usefulness of social media as a knowledge sharing tool during a crisis.

Do Regime Shifts Affect Mixed-Asset Portfolios in Thailand?

This study examines the benefits of diversification by adding real estate to a portfolio of traditional assets in Thailand during various regimes from January 1994 to June 2013. More specifically, Amonhaemanon compares the performance of a stock portfolio (benchmark portfolio) and that of an optimal mixed portfolio composed of stock and real estate (direct and indirect real estate). Using the Sharpe ratio as a measure of portfolio performance, the author tests whether there is a statistically signifi cant difference between benchmark and mixed portfolios among different regimes. The empirical results show that all types of real estate provide benefits for Thai investors in the sense that the mixed portfolio always performs better than does the benchmark portfolio. However, the Sharpe ratio of the two portfolios is statistically significantly different only since the year 2000, after the financial crisis in Thailand.

Betwixt Droughts and Floods: Flood Management Politics in Thailand

Attempting to create greater understanding of the political dynamics that influence domestic disaster relief and management (DRM) in Thailand, this article takes a closer look at these dynamics by outlining the main actors involved in flood-related DRM. It acknowledges the importance of international and military actors but emphasises the role of national and subnational authorities. The article then identifies the central issues of DRM governance as capacity and bureaucracy and discusses these through a chronological assessment of the flood crisis in Thailand in 2011, interweaving the colourful domestic politics with various political cleavages and dichotomies, and thereby distinguishing between three main dichotomies which it considers as the central drivers of the political dynamics and institutional development of DRM. These issues can be summarised as old versus new institutions, technocracy versus bureaucracy and centralised (but with direct people-orientation through greater channels of citizenry participation) versus decentralised bureaucracy with an indirect orientation towards people.

Development of a rapid, simple method for detecting Naegleria fowleri visually in water samples by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP).

Naegleria fowleri is the causative agent of the fatal disease primary amebic meningoencephalitis. Detection of N. fowleri using conventional culture and biochemical-based assays is time-consuming and laborious, while molecular techniques, such as PCR, require laboratory skills and expensive equipment. We developed and evaluated a novel loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay targeting the virulence-related gene for N. fowleri. Time to results is about 90 min and amplification products were easily detected visually using hydroxy naphthol blue. The LAMP was highly specific after testing against related microorganisms and able to detect one trophozoite, as determined with spiked water and cerebrospinal fluid samples. The assay was then evaluated with a set of 80 water samples collected during the flooding crisis in Thailand in 2011, and 30 natural water samples from border areas of northern, eastern, western, and southern Thailand. N. fowleri was detected in 13 and 10 samples using LAMP and PCR, respectively, with a Kappa coefficient of 0.855. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a LAMP assay for N. fowleri. Due to its simplicity, speed, and high sensitivity, the LAMP method described here might be useful for quickly detecting and diagnosing N. fowleri in water and clinical samples, particularly in resource-poor settings.

Anatomy of Political Atrophy in Thailand

With the take-over of power by the military on May 22, 2014, under General Prayuth Chan-O-Cha, the chief of army, Thailand has gone full circle in coup d’états, from democratic deficit to fractious political struggle between different social groups leading to acute and irreconcilable political instability that gives leverage to the army to finally intervene and seize power by suspending the constitutional processes. Democracy in Thailand is not only a recent phenomenon, but is also periodic and short-lived. It is not democracy and political legitimacy of elected leaders that has held the country together and provided political and economic stability, but deep reverence for the monarchy, fear of the armed forces and the strength of the civil service. Thailand’s political system is in a state of atrophy in the midst of irreconcilable differences between those who want to cling to power through constitutional means, fair or unfair, of elections and populist policies and those who believe that constitutional means have brought about a tyranny of majority and unbridled corruption, which they want to reform through extraordinary measures, including suspension of electoral democracy and an unelected People’s Council. Will the military be able to resolve the political crisis in Thailand, bring stability and usher the country to constitutional democracy with political institutions matching the nation’s economic progress? If the complete failure of the previous coup in 2006 to improve Thailand’s political situation is any indication, there are reasons for concern and scepticism. Moreover, the degree of polarisation and intolerance in society now is more severe than it was eight years ago. To end decades of political instability and immaturity will require fundamental changes in the way Thai society functions and the way its people view their nation’s future.

Interbank market, stock market, and bank performance in East Asia

This paper investigates the role of stock and interbank markets in measuring bank performance in Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. Research on whether financial markets served in terms of assessment and discipline of banks has been done in advanced countries; however, there has been limited research on this question as it applies to banks in East Asian countries. The stock price of individual banks can reflect a bank's risk profile, interbank loans to domestic banks with higher risk and bad performance may decline, and interbank borrowing rates charged to banks can respond to bank performance. This functioning of the stock and interbank markets is particularly important from the view of maintaining and strengthening the domestic banking sectors and the financial system in East Asia. This paper employs panel regression techniques and examines whether interbank transactions and stock prices of domestic commercial banks responded to bank risk and performance in those Asian countries. The regression results suggest that interbank borrowing, the borrowing rate, and foreign currency borrowing were affected by bank risk variables subsequent to the 1997 crisis in Thailand. In Korea, foreign currency borrowing of domestic banks may respond to bank risk after the crisis. In the case of stock markets, the regression shows that bank risk influenced each bank's stock price in Korea and Malaysia. The results for Thailand suggest that bank risk and cost affected bank stock prices after the crisis. These findings imply that improving both the interbank market and the stock market may play a role in establishing a sound banking system through market discipline effects.

Microbiological evaluation of water during the 2011 flood crisis in Thailand

In 2011, a severe flood occurred in Thailand, covering nearly half the country in water for several months. The contamination of floodwater and subsequent contamination of water for human consumption could have potentially led to a widespread health crisis. However, to date, no study has been conducted to determine the safety of the waters used for human consumption in Thailand during the severe flood. Therefore, we conducted microbiological analysis of 4 kinds of water (floodwater, river water, tap water, and filtered tap water) collected from industrial and residential areas that were damaged due to flooding. Higher net levels of bacteria were found in water with a higher turbidity. No clear trend was observed in the pH value of all 4 water samples. The level of total bacterial contamination in the water samples was estimated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Eleven of the 12 tap water samples and all of the filtered tap water samples had a total bacterial load that exceeded the Thai water quality standards. One of the tap water samples and one of the filtered tap water samples were found to be positive for Shigella sp., although none of the floodwater samples showed detectable levels of this pathogen as determined by PCR analysis. One of the samples of floodwater was also found to be positive for Leptospira sp., but none of the tap water or filtered tap water samples were positive. Most of the tap water samples and all filtered tap water samples were found to be contaminated with Vibrio cholerae. Bacterial contamination in water samples was also analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis. These results revealed that several microorganisms were transferred via floodwater to different areas in the central part of Thailand and cross-contaminated between floodwater and water for human consumption.

Constitutionalism in Thailand: Key Questions of an On-Going Research

Our research project3 analyzes Thai political crisis with reference to, firstly, global trend towards rights-based development and specific liberal democratization trajectories. Secondly, project is based on a micro-level analysis of strategic positioning of and debates within social movements concerning a quest for funda- mental rights and a rejection of a 'judicialization' of politics. This focus leads to criti- cal questions about democratization processes along liberal constitutional ideas in general. As situation in Thailand points beyond particular case, its analysis has implications on a regional and global level, both for democratic and political theory and also for practice of development cooperation. We would like to out- line some of these critical core questions in following.Since political crisis in Thailand fully unfolded with military coup in 2006, it continuously intensified and preliminarily culminated in protests, clashes, and eventually violent crackdown of red-shirt demonstrations in May 2010. When Pheu Thai, party close to red-shirts and ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shi- nawatra, won a majority in Parliament in July 2011, it immediately sparked rumors of a new coup; two years later, party faces severe criticism by supporters for seek- ing reconciliation with military, including amnesty for shootings of 2010, and resistance from opponents for trying to amend or even re-draft constitution of 2007.When we talk about deep crisis of Thai political institutions, we have to keep in mind that for a whole decade, democratization process of Thailand was hailed as one of most promising in all South-East Asia: It started with strong pro- democracy movement in 1992, which pushed military out of politics, and many analysts saw adoption of People's Constitution in 1997, with its institutional arrangements and its orientation towards good governance and human rights, as culmination and institutional enshrinement of democratization process. Yet, optimism soon gave way to tensions within society when, in 2001, Thaksin Shinawatra became Prime Minister and large parts of society became alienated by his political and economical agenda (Pye & Schaffar, 2008). Ultimately, he was men- tioned along with Silvio Berlusconi and Hugo Chavez as a prototype of new populism (Mizuno & Pasuk, 2009). Since military coup of 2006, introduction of far- reaching media censorship, and curtailment of political rights and civil liberties, Thailand is widely regarded as an example of return of authoritarianism (Case, 2009).The case of Thailand requires questioning basic assumptions about fram- ing of state institutions (or polity). As their implementation is often schematically promoted, certain state institutions remain unquestioned target of democratiza- tion and development processes worldwide - and not unanticipated outcome of such processes. This problem lies at center of our research project. The aim is to capture struggle for democracy as something processual. In Europe and North America, this process has produced different systems of government, like British Westminster system, Swiss consensus democracy, or US-American checks and balances model of liberal constitutional democracy. Neither of these systems is uncontested or ideally democratic, and all of them are under attack by de-democra- tization tendencies in wake of globalization as well as by most recent politi- cal developments in reactions to worldwide financial and economic crisis (Guth, 2013). The critical analysis of institutional diversity forms one of theoretical bases of project and focuses on a particular observable global development of past years and decades: increasing judicialization of politics (cf. Hirschl, 2004a, 2004b).Generally, judicialization means development of legal strategies to address social problems, or that the exercise of political power is increasingly being trans- ferred from legislature to instances of case-by-case decision-making by individual judges (Fischer-Lescano & Christensen, 2012, p. …

Attitudes Of Undergraduate Students Towards An Online English Class

Distance online learning has been regarded as a useful learning method, especially when we faced the big flood crisis in Thailand. To solve the lack of classrooms, our university administrators decided to implement WebEx system as an alternative to continue teaching. And, there were some relevant aspects that we needed to consider. Therefore, this study investigated students’ attitude toward WebEx system. It aimed to examine students’ attitudes toward using WebEx for an online English class, compare students’ attitudes toward WebEx system with their background and investigate the relationship between students’ computer aptitude and their attitudes towards WebEx system. The samples were 211 undergraduate students enrolled in Fundamental English course. The instrument in this study was a questionnaire. Results indicated that the levels of computer aptitude and attitudes towards WebEx system in general were moderate. There were no statistically significant differences at .05 level found in students’ attitudes toward WebEx system as classified by gender, computer ownership, and monthly allowance. As hypothesised, there was a positive relationship between students’ computer aptitude and their attitudes toward WebEx at .01 levels. Students with high computer aptitude were found to have more positive attitudes toward WebEx system than those with low computer aptitude. The research was done during the flood crisis. Thus, it is interesting to find out whether an English online class through WebEx system will be more accepted by users in the future, especially in a normal circumstance after the flood crisis. Nevertheless, the results of this study will give some ideas to institutions that plan to use online learning technologies.

Impact of Political Power on Financial Crises

Crises in Thailand, South Korea, Mexico or Marshall Plan are all examples of different forms of financial crises that the world has been exposed to over the decades. At the same time an extensive flow of financial aid is also evident. The problem posed in this paper is whether the financial crises are a result of structural imbalances and disproportions or are they situations strategically imposed by political actors whose interests are far from achieving global prosperity. This paper takes into focus three separate cases: the Marshall Plan, 1997 crisis in Thailand and 1998 Russian crisis. The research that follows is twofold: firstly, the crises will each be explained through positivist approach, i.e. the set of macroeconomic indicators crisis will be presented and analyzed in search of common ground. Secondly, the research shifts from causal explanation to cui bono (who benefits?) question. The analysis should incorporate the widely accepted reasons why the events occurred, what preceded each event, how the crises culminated and the way they were resolved. But the main objective of the research is to explore the economic and political climate of the place and time in question in search of different political motives different actors could have had in the event of crisis. Events will be placed in global context which should lead to the detection of different actors involved, other than domestic, whose interests might have prevailed. The results of the research will show that political decisions of the time have had direct and significant impact on the resulting macroeconomic position of the country affected by crisis.

Thailand in 2009: Colored by Turbulence

The prolonged political crisis in Thailand reached a new high in 2009, when ASEAN-related summits were aborted by fierce pro-Thaksin protests, followed by violent riots in Bangkok. Although the 2007 Constitution revision represented a key contestation, cleavages within the anti-Thaksin coalition became paramount. Meanwhile, domestic conflicts prompted increasing Cambodian involvement in Thai affairs.

Macro Volatility and Financial Crisis in Thailand: Some Historical Evidence

This paper uses national income identity to explain the causal relationships among Thailand’s aggregate volatility, deficient financial structure, financial liberalization, and financial crisis in this country. Relatively good macroeconomic policies and diversified structure were able to compensate for financial imperfections and weak corporate governance in the financial sector in the period 1970–90. Under these conditions, real GDP growth was positive, inflation was relatively low, and consumption was relatively less volatile than GDP. The 1997 crisis, however, severely affected the ability of central authorities to smooth fluctuation. Investment and consumption volatility increased substantially. This implies that, when counter-cyclical policies are difficult to implement and incomplete markets exist, it is much more difficult to stabilize consumption.

Thailand´ s Intractable Southern War: Policy, Insurgency and Discourse

In mid-2008, with turbulence in Thailand's Deep South halfway through its 5th year, government, military and police claimed that tangible progress had been made in destabilising insurgent networks and reducing in six month period since late 2007. Though statistics do indicate an overall decline in violent incidents and casualties over this period, authorities still face challenge of convincing both borderland and national population, as well as news media (both domestic and foreign) that they are making progress in ways that are both substantial and legitimate. It is a state that can appropriately be described as intractable. Essentially there are two key reasons for this condition of intractability bedevilling Thailand's crisis. First, security forces of Thai state are unable to reach a decisive breakthrough in counter-insurgency and development efforts in face of a determined and flexible guerrilla war being waged against them. Admittedly, cell-based clandestine insurgent networks have been at least a decade in making, so it is hardly to be expected that this guerrilla-style offensive can be quelled rapidly, and over past few years military and government officials have repeatedly emphasized that it will take time to end violence. Nonetheless, even with current policy mix of law enforcement and peaceoriented development, it is unlikely that a reduction in current violence will be any more than gradual. Overshadowing this ongoing challenge is fact that daily killings afflicting borderland are also committed by crime networks and rival local politicians who intersect with ideologically-motivated groups in varied and confusing ways. (1) Unofficial estimates of proportion of total killings resulting from private and political conflicts range from between 15 to 50 per cent. (2) Nevertheless, impelling force driving violence and continuing insecurity in borderland is clearly a form of Malay-Muslim separatism embraced by a looselystructured movement founded on cell-based military and political wings, one that has been able to attract support from a proportion of local Malay-Muslim population, and otherwise demand compliance and/or silence of many others. Second, condition of intractability is compounded by continuing contestation over key issues surrounding the problem of south and solutions to it. Over past year civil society sector, numerous single-issue advocates and sections of borderland Muslim elite have continued to condemn security forces as prime aggressor, targeting in particular continuing application of emergency law of 2005 which permits security forces to detain and question suspects. While fervent in their criticism, these groups have not proposed realistic alternative measures for reducing ongoing violence. During 2004 a number of perceptive Thai commentators, including pseudonymous columnist Barun and Sathian Chantimathon, stressed that conflict in south would be primarily a conflict around construction of knowledge. (3) Within a few weeks of explosion of violence that followed startling raid on a military camp in Narathiwat Province on 4 January 2004, there emerged a cluster of jostling arguments about origins, character and solutions to southern fire. These stymied any clear consensus about its driving dynamics and primary solutions. They were generated by various key actors and interest groups, including members of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's government, opposition Democrat Party, media, academics, public intellectuals, justice advocates and serving and retired military figures. In a previous research paper, I suggested that these overlapping, but often competing paradigms could be grouped under a number of headings, including: The Draconian and Short-sighted Thaksin State; The Marginalized and Persecuted Southern Muslim; Banditry, Underdevelopment and Manipulation; Security Threat and Need for a Firm Military Response; and The Lawless and Neglected Borderland. …

The Asian crisis contagion: A dynamic correlation approach analysis

In this paper we are testing for contagion caused by the Thai baht collapse of July 1997. In line with earlier work, shift-contagion is defined as a structural change within the international propagation mechanisms of financial shocks. We adopt Bai and Perron's (1998) structural break approach in order to detect the endogenous break points of the pair-wise time-varying correlations between Thailand and seven Asian stock market returns. Our approach enables us to solve the misspecification problem of the crisis window. Our results illustrate the existence of shift-contagion in the Asian crisis caused by the crisis in Thailand.

Ten Years After the Financial Crisis in Thailand: What Has Been Learned or Not Learned?

The 1997 financial crisis provided many lessons about the weaknesses of Thailand's economic and financial system before the crisis, weaknesses that eventually led to the crisis. Since then, these lessons have led to many economic and financial reforms. This paper reviews the lessons and reforms that have been carried out. These include improvements to the data system needed for adequate macroeconomic monitoring, changes to the macroeconomic management framework and monetary policy regime, and various aspects of financial sector reforms. This paper also indicates the lessons that might not yet have been sufficiently learned and new risks to future economic stability. These include political interference in financial institutions, leading to inappropriate or excessive lending, and lack of transparency in fiscal liabilities that could mislead macroeconomic management.

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