Farang husbands providing massive boost to Isaan economy

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Farang husbands providing massive boost to economy in Isaan

KHON KAEN:-- A study recently carried out by Khon Kaen University has found that foreign men who are married to women from Isaan have boosted gross domestic product in the region by almost 9 billion baht.

The findings of the study, which looked at the impact foreign husbands have on the economy in the north east of Thailand were unveiled by Asst Prof Kalapapruek Piwthongngam, from the Faculty of Management Science at the E-saan Centre for Business and Economic Research, reports Daily News Online.

According to the study, after a woman from north east Thailand gets married to or engages in a long term relationship with a foreigner, on average she will normally send approximately 9,600 Baht per month back to her family in the region. This money is normally used to help the family with living expenses, purchasing food, paying for utility bills and education.

The study also found that on average, the wife and foreign husband will normally return to the wifes family home in the region at least once a year, sometimes staying for as long as one month, which results in a dramatic increase in financial spending in the local area.

This increase in spending is mostly seen in the automotive, retail and wholesale sectors, as well as in the local property market. The purchase of household goods, personal items and gold also normally increase during this time.

The E-saan Centre for Business and Economic Research also estimated that this spending helped to create nearly 747,000 jobs in the region.

The centre found that increasingly more women aged between 20 and 40 years old from the north east are marrying foreign men, with a definite trend developing, according to Asst Prof Kalapapruek.

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

-- 2014-10-22

[pinkpanther99]

Very interesting.

These figures are huge!

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

[TheCruncher]

[Chang_paarp]

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.

[Chang_paarp]

Very interesting.

These figures are huge!

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

In the older study the numbers were in the region of 4-6Billion Baht a year for Issan alone.

[uel1968]

If it wasnt for the farangs,i reckon there would be no-one in issan,they would all be begging on the streets of bangkok

[doggie888888]

If it wasnt for the farangs,i reckon there would be no-one in issan,they would all be begging on the streets of bangkok

Yeah, right. Without the superior yet ever suffering martyred farang, the natives would still be living in caves. Oh, dear St. Farang do get off the cross, the natives need the firewood to cook and keep warm.

[Crazy chef 1]

The study also found that on average, the wife and foreign husband will normally return to the wifes family home in the region at least once a year, sometimes staying for as long as one month, which results in a dramatic increase in financial spending in the local area.

especially into the local mum and pop stores...

[tso310]

I'm pretty sure this 'study' has been done regularly over the last 20 years with exactly the same conclusion. I always thought this university was supposed to be one of the better ones outside Bangkok.

[Kerryd]

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.

[pinkpanther99]

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.

This is interesting also, when put into context.

Thanks for sharing.

[pinkpanther99]

"This increase in spending is mostly seen in the automotive, retail..."

That'll be mobile phones, pick-ups and Honda Click's.

[sustento]

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.

I used to sail with Filipino seamen. Whenever we hit port they'd sub the maximum amount they were allowed in US$ bills, wrap them in a parcel and post them home to the family.

[asdecas]

Very interesting.

These figures are huge!

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

I remember what it was like. All the 'cousins' and 'brothers' lived in nipa huts. Now they live in concrete houses with bidets, provided by the nice farang ex-husbands.

[JoePai]

Think most of that is mine

[Lupatria]

Very interesting.

These figures are huge!

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

Isarn would have 50 % less Pick-up Trucks, 10 % less family houses with solid roofs and walls and people would probably get excited to see the first man made ice cube.

[Costas2008]

Nothing new to me.

Keep saying that for a long time and I got some nasty responses from some members.

Eat your words out now.........dearest wise members.

[coxo]

Lets hope the government and immigration take notice and ease the visa requirements!!!

[Norlund]

For a normal Isaan family 9600 Baht per month is a lot of money, but It's not the daughter married to a foreigner abroad that makes the big financial impact on the Isaan economy. It's the foreigner living in Isaan that is the real "walking ATM".

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/world/asia/25iht-thai.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[Suffinator]

Yes the expat community as a whole contributes a vast sum of money each year and yet are still treated like total <deleted>. So glad I'm no longer one of the idiots still supporting Thainess.

[Suffinator]

Very interesting.

These figures are huge!

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

A barren wasteland with people digging in the dirt for food.

[Suradit69]

Very interesting.

These figures are huge!

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

Same, same, but different.'

During the world-wide colonial period, the foreign presence was also claimed to be so beneficial to those having their economies exploited. Later accounting of the impact on those populations and their economies wasn't quite as rosy as once proclaimed ... except for the haul made by those who were doing the exploiting. Most of the "beneficiaries" of that period have never recovered.

“History Would be Something Extraordinary, if Only it Were True” –Tolstoy

Edited October 22, 2014 by Suradit69

[moonseeker]

And I hear from my friends, also the ones who are retired up there, they are super happy about the new found lifestyle and family integration. Jeez....Might have to give it a try. 5555 MS>

[Colabamumbai]

And most of us living with women here in Isaan are contributing 10,000 Baht a month or more, minimum to the household to the lady.

[wileycoyote]

The study also found that on average, the wife and foreign husband will normally return to the wifes family home in the region at least once a year, sometimes staying for as long as one month, which results in a dramatic increase in financial spending in the local area.

especially into the local mum and pop stores...

This is invaluable not only in fiscal terms.It strengthens the bond both between the wife's family with the husband,but also keeps Thai culture available for young children visiting maternal grandparents.

[gchurch259]

I have a very nice Lady friend who lives in that region. We are not married, But she was my Pool Shooting Buddy till her Father and Brother passed and she returned to help Mother run the farm. I contribute approx 250,000 THB a year to help her and her Mother, as I promised her Father before he passed. Both died from Cancer due to the Fluke worms in the fresh water fish they eat raw.

With their Rice being flooded about everyother year in that region they need help from time to time.

Edited October 22, 2014 by gchurch259

[evadgib]

I'm curious as to the relevance of the photo. Either all hands are female or one of the models is Warwick Davis!

Edited October 22, 2014 by evadgib

[jaywalker]

The study also found that on average, the wife and foreign husband will normally return to the wifes family home in the region at least once a year, sometimes staying for as long as one month, which results in a dramatic increase in financial spending in the local area.

especially into the local mum and pop stores...

This is invaluable not only in fiscal terms.It strengthens the bond both between the wife's family with the husband,but also keeps Thai culture available for young children visiting maternal grandparents.

It also keeps the traffic cops happy pulling me over for imagined offenses.

When I first met my wife she was 27 and couldn't drive a 10 penny nail into a piece of cornbread.

She's a pretty good driver now. I just sit in the back & wish her luck.

[oneday]

It takes a study to figure this out. OMG!

[MaxYakov]

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?

Edited October 22, 2014 by MaxYakov