Experiences of financial distress in Thailand

Between 1983 and 1984, 15 Thai finance companies went under, and many others were distressed. Authorities were faced with the choice of rescuing the troubled institutions or closing them down. Closing an institution is often less costly, financially, than rescuing it. The risk in closing institutions is that you might set off systemwide panic that hurts both the domestic market and the country's ability to attract foreign funds. Although some companies failed to recover, the measures Thai authorities took succeeded in restoring public confidence. How did the authorities succeed in restoring public confidence? First, in choosing to rehabilitate, the government demonstrated its commitment to preserving financial institutions. Second, changes in the Bank of Thailand Act and the regulations governing commercial banks and finance companies gave the authorities more power to handle problem institutions and prevent further crises. Rehabilitating these institutions appears to have cost no more than closing them down and paying off depositors would have cost. Of course, the rescue option meant using government facilities and personnel. It is also more difficult to prosecute former managers under a rehabilitation scheme than if the institution closes down. The dilemma authorities face is the tradeoff between preserving the financialsystem's well-being and preventing moral hazard.Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,National Governance,Economic Theory&Research,Private Participation in Infrastructure

Influence of secondary consolidation and overconsolidation on the behaviour of a soft alluvial clay

Imperial Users onl

The Effect of Stock, Government Policy, and Monopoly on Asymmetric Price Transmission in Thailand

The article studies of asymmetric price transmission of gasoline price and diesel price and their causes in Thailand.  The study employs the monthly data of West Texas Instrument crude oil price, unleaded gasoline price and high speed diesel price, the oil fund, the stock of unleaded gasoline and high speed diesel inventories.  The results show that asymmetric price transmission exists for unleaded gasoline but not for high speed diesel.  The oil fund does not influence on the price asymmetry.  Whether the oil fund is levied, the price asymmetry always presents for unleaded gasoline but not for high speed diesel.  Moreover, the marketing margins or firms' profits do not cause the asymmetric price for both.  However, the oil fund and the marketing margins could make unleaded gasoline prices adjust more quickly but high speed diesel more slowly.  The government is successful to use the oil fund directly to regulate the market gasoline and diesel price.  The firms' monopoly power could also indirectly maintain those prices stable and make unleaded gasoline price adjust more slowly and high speed diesel more quickly.  Finally, the stocks of unleaded gasoline and high speed diesel do not have the effects on the price asymmetry.  The asymmetry is influenced mainly by the oil fund and the marketing margins.  Firms do not need to adjust their price and their quantity.  Keywords: asymmetric price transmission, oil fund, marketing margins, and stock of inventories. JEL Classifications: C32; Q41; Q4

A Portrait of the Transcriptome of the Neglected Trematode, Fasciola gigantica—Biological and Biotechnological Implications

Fasciola gigantica (Digenea) is an important foodborne trematode that causes liver fluke disease (fascioliasis) in mammals, including ungulates and humans, mainly in tropical climatic zones of the world. Despite its socioeconomic impact, almost nothing is known about the molecular biology of this parasite, its interplay with its hosts, and the pathogenesis of fascioliasis. Modern genomic technologies now provide unique opportunities to rapidly tackle these exciting areas. The present study reports the first transcriptome representing the adult stage of F. gigantica (of bovid origin), defined using a massively parallel sequencing-coupled bioinformatic approach. From >20 million raw sequence reads, >30,000 contiguous sequences were assembled, of which most were novel. Relative levels of transcription were determined for individual molecules, which were also characterized (at the inferred amino acid level) based on homology, gene ontology, and/or pathway mapping. Comparisons of the transcriptome of F. gigantica with those of other trematodes, including F. hepatica, revealed similarities in transcription for molecules inferred to have key roles in parasite-host interactions. Overall, the present dataset should provide a solid foundation for future fundamental genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic explorations of F. gigantica, as well as a basis for applied outcomes such as the development of novel methods of intervention against this neglected parasite

The effects on income distribution and nutrition of alternative rice price policies in Thailand

PRIFPRI