Book Description

The economic history of Thailand between 1880 and 1975 contrasts sharply with the development experiences of other Third World countries. Between the opening of trade in 1850 and 1941, when war halted economic activity, Thailand became a major exporter of rice in the world market. Although conditions for further growth seemed highly favourable, Thailand's rapid integration into the world economy failed to improve living standards, and rice yields actually declined. In examining the causes of the underdevelopment of Thai agriculture over the last 100 years, Feeny introduces supply and demand models of technical and institutional change to analyse why the rice export boom did not result in more development. This book, much of which is based on primary research in the Thai National Archives, is one of the few quantitative economic histories of a less developed country.