Farang husbands providing massive boost to Isaan economy

[laocowboy2 368]

Thanks - at last someone does the maths. Although the money might be a higher proportion of household incomes. Even so, some time before farangs replace rice and rubber as the preferred cash crop.

Is this a new study?

Or a rehash of one a couple of years old? The thread on TV went 15 or so pages as it would on this topic.

As an aside, the Philippine government acknowledges that money sent home by overseas citizens and former citizens represent almost 10% of GBP (about the same as the tourist industry is worth to the Thai GDP). This includes overseas workers as well as those who have married and moved away.

We had a number of Filipino workers here over the years. We were required to send 70% of their salary directly to their bank in the Philippines. They could draw up to 30% of their pay in country if they so chose. Their government could also dictate where they could, and couldn't, work and prevent them from leaving the country if it looked like they were heading to a banned country.

As for the contribution foreigners make to the Isaan economy, we'd need to see what the GDP is for that area in order to determine if this amount represents that large of a contribution. I recall crunching some numbers not long ago to try and determine the overall contribution "long term" stayers had on the Thai economy as a whole, and it turns out they were nowhere near the "economic" force they thought they were.

9 billion is a large number of course, but needs to be taken in context. For example "Although Isaan accounts for around a third of Thailand’s population and a third of its area, it produces only 8.9% of GDP. Its economy grew at 6.2% per annum during the 1990s."

The latest numbers I see show the Thai GDP as - THB11.375 trillion (USD366 billion)(2012). If you attribute 10% of that to coming from Isaan that means the whole contribution from the region is about 1.14 trillion.

9 billion from foreigners would represent about 0.79 % of that total.

To put it another way, Isaan has a population of approx 22 million. 9 billion would equal about 410 baht per person (per year). Not exactly earth-shattering.

[jaywalker 6,258]

It takes a study to figure this out. OMG!

If it were the USA, they'd have to do a study to see if it was feasible to do a study.

[ronthai 663]

Those the 9 Billion include the amounts in money, properties(land and/or house), cars and other things, that where stolen from sucker farangs, of whom we read many stories here on TV?

[jollyhangmon 1,360]

L-O-L, cha-ching, cha-ching ... whod've thought that ...

Keep on paying in brothers, for the sake of this very nation ...

[Norlund 101]

This one I think is a real beauty. Did the man tell Thai ladies to go for the money?

http://asiancorrespondent.com/88432/did-a-thai-mp-really-told-thai-women-to-better-marry-a-foreigner/

[Lupatria 13,580]

Finally I learned where they breed lonely old men turning into customers:

most foreign men marrying women from north east Thailand came from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.

[jeffreybangkok 50]

Excuse me, is not only from Farang. From other Asian countries husbands too

[Tboy928 60]

Very interesting.

These figures are huge!

I wonder what Isaan would be like without all this funding from Farangs?

YOU could wounder how empty Bangla Road , and Pattaya would be ,if all Isan girls went home...)))

[godden 1,340]

Should tighten visa laws for falang husbands, it would cut down this terrible flow of money.

[SOTIRIOS 3,609]

...sadly though.....how many of those that provided.......... a boost....got............ the boo t ....in return.......???

[benbear 118]

Not sure about this, let me ask my wife

[upena 1,250]

Wonder who they talk to - my guess - only the women. And, living in Khon Kaen, I know how Thai women exaggerate wealth. Cut the numbers in half - at least.

[Emster23 8,772]

Hey! Wait a minute! What about the farang boyfriends, sex-tourists and gullible internet contributors?! Don't they get any credit for saving Isaan from a dark ages economy and standard of living?

Exactly what I was wondering. I figure that contribution easily dwarfs anything cash wise that comes in from NGO's, foreign governments, the IMF.... you name it. And generally no middle man unless her "brother" is sponging off her whilst she plies her trade.

[Time Traveller 3,164]

Yes the expat community as a whole contributes a vast sum of money each year and yet are still treated like total <deleted>.

So the offical policy is working then. Maybe if they were treated a little worse the expat might contribute even more.

[richard10365 393]

What is the time frame for that 9 billion? Is that for one year, 10 years, 20 years etc? The amount of jobs created, 747,000, also seems a bit excessive. I would interested in reading their research.