Farang husbands providing massive boost to Isaan economy

[PungShoeWrote]

“Pet Buffalos herd to the North to enrich the parasites”

[Don Aleman]

Considering the amount I've spent in 10 years, ( to embarrassed to say how much ). I believe I have supported 23,400 Thais, none of which I created .

[IAMHERE]

Very interesting.

These figures are huge!

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

Redder than it is.

[Reggae rancher]

Milking is an understatement.

[mogo51]

Did they include the increase in gambling revenue from illegal lotteries etc. Increased income for solicitors trying to settle the Thai rips off of farangs. Not to mention benefits to the banking sector from Thais banking money from stupid farangs who

send huge sums each months, to their darlings who are only waiting for them to return x3 at least!!!!

[Jonmarleesco]

Presumably immigration is unaware of the research, or of the results?

[Surasak]

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

Yeah, Yeah. In your dreams. When does hell freeze over?

[IAMHERE]

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...)))

Don't forget the older women (outnumber girls in bars), gays, and ladyboys.

[Khun David]

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.

Unless you can state how much of the GDP goes directly to Isaan people and how this is distributed, you are talking manuture, How can you argue GDP figures against money that is put directly into the Isaan economy by farangs which is what the topic is about ?

[ubonrthai]

Is the 9,600b sent each month the amount the husband knows about or is she actually sending 20k/month?

[Mot Dang]

Thank God ...... finally recognized. After 32 years in the Buriram panhandle I would hate to think what sum of money I have poured into the local economy since 1982. It cost me a nice house (the "Falang House"), and 50,000 baht a month. But that is putting several kids through school and Uni over the years, including nieces and nephews. And a Sala at the local Wat. I get along well with the family and all the neighbors. But mind you guys, your time in the sun will be short, it wont take long before those in power will start pissing on us again. Trying to extract as much baht from us as they can, partly to pacify their jealousy pangs. That leads us to ask, why do Thai ladies like to marry falang, but all us falang guys with Thai wives know the answer to that, don't we ? So I wont bring it up here.

[connda]

It's doesn't matter. We are still treated no better than the average criminal-parolee who dutifully reports his/her address to the government so they can be found quickly if a crime happens in their areas.

[thailiketoo]

It's doesn't matter. We are still treated no better than the average criminal-parolee who dutifully reports his/her address to the government so they can be found quickly if a crime happens in their areas.

We report where we have been not where where we are.

[Loptr]

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.

Oh dear, your Thainess is showing... 9 billion baht a year buys a lot of firewood, no?

[Mot Dang]

I just read most of the entries. My God what a bunch of pathetic loosers. Find a nice girl, there are plenty out there. No it takes more than loose change. I have been married for 34 years to a great woman. Most of my friends are married to great Thai gals. Not all see you as an ATM. But a true expat in Thailand can work this out for themselves. How much money do you think you would be spending on a wife back home. Bit more than Thailand. Or you could stay at home, and frequent some lousy pub and die at the age of 55.

[morpho]

I remember the first time I visited my first Thai girlfriend's family in Buriram in 2003. As we drove around the countryside over several days, my girlfriend was constantly pointing out the really nice houses that had been built either for a foreigner/Thai couple to live in or for her family (or both). Besides how nice the houses looked in comparison to most other houses, I remember her saying that girl's boyfriend is Swiss, that one from Australian, that one German, that one from Canada etc, etc. My guess is the rest of Isaan is similar. There must be a fortune injected into the economy just in house construction.

[arro]

sorry, every baht you let in isaan is death money !!

dont built a house bevor you life in it !!

and NEVER borrow money to family member or else, better roll cig's with it !!

10% w'ont agree, but the other 90%....... you know !!

arro

[slipperylobster]

There you go. The magic number is 9600 baht. If you are sending less, then you are a sticky man. Those who send more, just foolish.

[Carrerakiss]

The village I live in in Udon of around 85 houses has seen a steady improvement in terms of housing and household wealth. It doesn't really come from farang money though. The biggest increase in wealth has come from an increase in the price of rice land as it get developed into land for housing and commercial development.

To put this into context, land immediately next to our village rose from 100,000 baht per Rai five years ago to nearly 1 million baht now. These are prices for actual transactions completed by my wife and her family. I see many villagers selling off some of their race land and using the money to upgrade their house, car, motorbike etc. some even spend it on their kids education, lol.

In General, the economy of Udon is booming with lots of government money spent on infrastructure projects like roads, drainage, electricity etc. so the price of poor land suddenly becomes valuable because it can be used for something other than rice farming.

But it's Thai domestic demand and nothing to do with farangs.

[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.

Oh dear, your Thainess is showing... 9 billion baht a year buys a lot of firewood, no?

Thanks for the compliment but i am not Thai. Yes, 9bil Bahts is a lot but I think Isaan will survive with or without it. Certainly, they won't all go to bkk to be beggars. Gee, is it not a tad arrogant (and offensive) to claim an entire people would end up as beggars without the farangs' cash.

[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

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.

yeah your right,some of them really do need the farangs so called firewood.

[davidmann]

for sure us old men spend our money there some life times savings ,for maybe little love or maybe head acre ,then the government reward us making hard to get visa for sure hard for some this ladies to get visa for the west ,but once they do its for life ,not a year at time ,about time thailand gave us a easy time ,

[Balance]

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.

I am not sure what the point is. Bottom line, the farang married to Isaan women contibute to the economy, and if the TB9,600 figure is correct, then it is a significant contribution. But it is more than just an economic contribution; the income increases the stability of the family and provides a social and financial safety net.

[BestBitterPhuket]

What about us in the south. My wife's village is almost walking distance from the Malaysian border and I boost the economy of both Thailand and Malaysia, which makes me a superhero.

[JustinCredible]

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

I totally agree ---------- BUT only in Isaan. We spend the money so we get the rewards........

[bender92]

So now the other Thai women will demand a raise!

[sanuk711]

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.

.

The Postman must have been the richest man in the village....................

[Emster23]

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.

Americans know better!! No new house for the G/F, no new "Family" Store, and last but not least, no new Pickup for daddy.

Ok to have some fun, but don't be a fool as seen here many times on TV.

Sorry, but Americans no better. haha Europe have no monopoly on gullibility. I put my ex thru Chula grad school. Something of value her mother couldn't steal. After divorce mother said "He shouldn't be angry: he didn't give you anything of value". gotta love that Isaan culture, eh?

[misterphil]

They should show these figures to Immigration. Maybe then they will issue a special visa. Maybe an Issan husband Visa

[tomyumchai]

no ones posted to boast about being supported by his chinese thai doctor wife yet?.......