Before the COVID-19 outbreak, Thailand’s capital was the world’s most visited city. Now Bangkok’s once-bustling streets are quiet. With its struggling economy, the timing of the crisis could not be worse for Thailand. Exports have been falling since 2019 while the GDP growth rate remained one of the lowest in Southeast Asia since 2014. These trends will worsen in the coming months. The government predicts the economy will contract by 5.3 percent while the International Monetary Fund estimate is even worse, foreseeing a 6.7 percent drop in GDP. Either scenario would make Thai economy the worst affected in the ASEAN region.

To be sure, everyone in Thailand is being affected by the sudden economy-wide disruption — from big business houses like the Central group to petty traders and day laborers. But the hardest hit are thousands of tuk tuk drivers and street vendors in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya who are jobless following the shutdown of the country’s $60 billion tourism sector. The COVID-19 outbreak will only deepen inequality in Thai society.

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The post Why COVID-19 Will Worsen Inequality in Thailand first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

The poverty rate in ASEAN has been reduced significantly, and the quality of life has improved for a vast number of the region’s 625 million residents. The ASEAN reported in 2017 that since 1990, the region has seen a dramatic reduction in the proportion of the population who live under the poverty line, from 47 percent in 1990 to 14 percent in 2015.

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Oxfam has indicated that Cambodia ranked 121 out of 157 countries in this year’s inequality index, a drop when compared to last year’s position of 111 out of 152 countries. The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2018 said Cambodia’s current ranking is attributed to poor performance in improving labour rights and wages. However, it noted that government spending and tax policies significantly improved.

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Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao addressed the China Development Forum (CDF), which opened today in Beijing.

[…]Mr. Nakao highlighted three policy challenges for the PRC as it transitions to high-quality growth in a new era: (i) inclusiveness, (ii) climate change and the environment, and (iii) an aging society. 

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The post Inequality, Climate Change, Aging: Three Key Challenges for China’s New Era first appeared on Open Development Mekong.