Singapore: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute; Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press, 2017. xx, 413 pp. (Tables.) US$29.90, paper. ISBN 978-981-4786-12-6.
Professor Porphant Ouyyanont provides a useful addition to the literature on the economic history of Thailand since the mid-nineteenth century. The book draws on documents housed at the National Archives, the academic literature published in English and Thai (and other languages), Thai government reports and statistics, and a number of unpublished theses written in Thai.
As the title of the book implies, Ouyyanont organizes the exposition by region: Bangkok; Central Region; the North; the South; the Northeast; and Conclusions. Ouyyanont focuses on economic and political change in the period from the signing of the Bowring Treaty with the United Kingdom in 1855 up to the present, in general, 2010. (The Bowring Treaty imposed free trade and extraterritoriality on Thailand; similar treaties were signed with other Western powers and Japan.) For the most part the exposition is chronological. Ouyyanont argues that the focus on events region by region is a safeguard that avoids an undue focus on Bangkok and the activities of the central government.
Ouyyanont describes the growth of Bangkok as a port city and political capital. Topics include population, labour force, immigration, public administration, manufacturing services, the post-1975 acceleration of export-oriented manufacturing industries, migration to Bangkok, and the growth in congestion. Between 1855 and 1932 Bangkok became an “outward-looking port city” (36); between 1932 and 1960 Bangkok became “a primate metropolis” (79); and after 1960 Bangkok became “a true primate megalopolis” (79).
The chapter on the Central Region describes the substantial commercialization of rice cultivation and diversification into and export of upland crops associated with the highway expansion in the post-World War II period. Structural change in the Thai economy is discussed: the decline of the share of the labour force engaged in agriculture and rise of the shares in industry and services. The growth of the manufacturing sector mainly occurred in Bangkok and adjacent provinces.
During the period from 1855 the North was gradually integrated into both the polity and economy of Thailand. The imports of foreign textiles led to a decline in traditional hand-loom northern textiles. The completion of the railroad to Chiang Mai in 1921 contributed to the growth of Chiang Mai as Thailand’s second most populous city. Since the 2000s the border trade with Myanmar, Laos, and China has grown in importance.
The chapter on the South highlights the importance of tin mining and, after 1901, rubber. The establishment of the Rubber Authority of Thailand in 1960 and the development of new varieties increased both production and productivity. Fisheries, palm oil, and fruit plantations also become increasingly important, as did tourism. After World War II the economy of the South became increasingly integrated with the rest of Thailand and public administration in Bangkok.
The Northeast came under Bangkok’s rule in 1779. In 1900 construction of a railroad to the Northeast began; the mainline was completed in 1930. The railroad and later investment in highways facilitated the seasonal migration of Lao labourers to rice farms and other employment opportunities in the Central Region. The Northeast also became a major supplier of livestock to the Central Region. Gradually the Northeast became both economically and politically integrated with Thailand while retaining much of its ethno-cultural heritage. As in the Central Region, the expansion of highways contributed to the diversification into upland crops and deforestation in the post-World War II period, in part enabled by United States (US) anti-communist foreign aid programs such as Accelerated Rural Development. The establishment of major US military bases in the Northeast during the war in Vietnam had substantial effects on the service sector. More recently, the construction of three bridges over the Mekong River has increased the importance of the border trade.
In the conclusions chapter Ouyyanont notes that the increased economic and political integration has led to a decline in the primacy of Bangkok. Nonetheless, large variations in living standards persist, on a regional and national level.
The book was originally published in Thai in 2015, followed by an English translation in 2017. I have read papers by Ouyyanont written in English, and unfortunately the clarity of the translated version of the book does not fully adhere to the same standard.
The book includes a number of cross-cutting themes. Ouyyanont highlights the role of Chinese immigrants as labourers and merchants active in commerce, the rice market, and rice milling. The important position of the Privy Purse Bureau, in charge of managing royal assets, is also a common thread throughout the book. The bureau played a major role in investing in urban and rural properties and supporting emerging manufacturing firms such as rice mills. Another recurrent theme is the importance of the war in Vietnam for the growth of the service sector and the tourist industries. Major infrastructure investments, in particular highways (for instance, the opening of the Friendship Highway in 1958), have served to integrate the regions and the economy. The establishment during the post-World War II period of regional administrative and education centres, for instance in Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen (university established in 1964), has contributed to the growth of these regional economies. Further, Ouyyanont highlights the importance of natural resource endowments and geography in shaping the economy and society of each region.
The regional focus is both a blessing and a curse. The roles of major events such as the Bowring Treaty, major infrastructure investments such as highways, internal migration between regions, and many other topics are, in part, repeated in each (or many) chapter(s). The inclusion of maps would have enhanced the effectiveness of the exposition.
It has been a pleasure to be reacquainted with the economic history of Thailand. In summary, I recommend the book to those interested in the evolution of the Thai economy and the parallel political and social change.
David Feeny
McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada