The archive
Analysis, explainers, and data stories from the South
Every article on this page is grounded in verifiable data and regional sourcing — no forecasts, no speculation, no investment framing.
Latest from Riverkalpha
Two recent deep-dives from our editorial team — click to read the full analysis.
Hat Yai's border trade in 2024: volumes, pressures, and what the numbers miss
Cross-border freight through the Sadao checkpoint rose 11 percent year-on-year in Q1 2024, but the aggregate figure conceals a sharp divergence between consumer goods and industrial inputs. We unpack what the split reveals about demand on both sides of the border.
Minimum wage, maximum complexity: how the 2024 increase is landing in Songkhla's informal sector
Thailand's latest minimum-wage adjustment was framed nationally as a cost-of-living measure, but enforcement patterns in Songkhla's informal economy tell a more complicated story. Our analysis draws on payroll data from three district labor offices.
Our editorial standards
Every claim in a Riverkalpha article is traceable to a primary source.
We cite government statistical releases, central bank publications, and on-record interviews with economists and sector practitioners. We do not publish price predictions, investment recommendations, or trading signals of any kind. Our role is to help you understand what economic data means for life and work in Southern Thailand — not to tell you what to do with that information. When our analysis depends on estimates or projections produced by third parties, we name the source and note the methodology's limitations. Corrections are published prominently and without delay when errors are identified.
“The piece on Songkhla's industrial estate hiring trends in late 2023 was the most thorough local labor-market analysis I've read in years. Riverkalpha cited the actual NSO survey wave, flagged the seasonal adjustment caveat, and still managed to make it readable for a non-economist. That balance is hard to find.”
— Supansa R., regional economist
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