The economy of Thailand is in the midst of rapid and extensive changes. But the processes of change are not entirely new, and the economy itself is a complex mix of private-enterprise traders and agricultural smallholders plus direct public economic activity.

Governmental involvement in economic matters is substantial, varied, and growing. A considerable part of this effort has been devoted to the development of the economic infrastructure. Another major concern has been the protection and expansion of Thailand’s position in an international economic setting. (The rapid expansion of Thai maize exports to Japan is one of the few export “success stories” in Southeast Asia.) As of now, Thailand’s economic situation appears good, owing to enlightened development policy and fortuitous events, such as the Vietnam war and the decline of Burma as a leading rice exporter. However, the limitations inherent in small, primary exporting economies make the long-run economic outlook for Thailand problematic, as does its very high population growth rate. Some form of effective regional cooperation, and/or major trade or tariff concessions by the industrial powers, would seem to be essential for long-run economic success.

The expanding scope of Thai economic concerns is reflected in a blossoming literature. Yet the points of departure for Thai economic studies are relatively few. Ingram’s bench mark study of Economic Change in Thailand Since 1850 surveys a hundred years of shifting, expanding economic activity to 1950. The report of the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), A Public Development Program for Thailand, describes general characteristics of the economy as of the latter 1950’s. Mousny’s The Economy of Thailand analyzes a most significant feature of the Thai economy — the exchange policy, which has had profound effects upon economic activity. Muscat’s Development Strategy in Thailand examines a broad array of developmental needs, problems, and opportunities. And one of the best statements of recent economic developments in Thailand is T. H. Silcock’s “Outline of Economic Development, 1945-1965,” the lead essay in his Thailand: Social and Economic Studies in Development.

This brings us to a substantial number of specialized studies, cited in parts one to three in this section, which are concerned with economic processes and institutions. In addition, economic information will be found in the survey publications cited in Sections A, D, and G.

The first part of this section covers the literature on aspects of the general economy; the second deals with foreign trade, particularly the rice trade; the third concentrates on planning and economic development; and the fourth cites various sources of statistical information. The sources of statistical information about Thailand are many and varied, including government departments and banks, United Nations agencies, private banks, the U.S. aid mission to Thailand. Many of these data sources are unreliable and therefore must be used with caution. For reliability, regularity of publication, and scope of coverage, the best sources are the monthly and annual reports of the Bank of Thailand. The quarterly Bulletin of Statistics of the National Statistical Office, the Economic Survey of Asia and the Far East published annually by EC AFE, and the numerous reports of the National Economic Development Board are also sources that are cited here. Specialized agencies of the United Nations, such as the FAO, the WHO, and UNESCO, report various kinds of economic information too.

1. The Economy

Amatayakul, Ravi, and Shrikrishna A. Pandit. “Financial Institutions in Thailand.” International Monetary Fund Staff Papers, Vol. VII, 1960-61, pp. 464-489.

Describes the principal formal financial institutions of Thailand: the Bank of Thailand (the central bank), twenty-seven commercial banks, the Government Savings Bank, the Industrial Finance Corporation, credit cooperatives, and insurance companies.

Andrews, James M. Siam: Second Rural Economic Survey, 1934- 1935. Bangkok: Bangkok Times Press, 1936. 396 pages.

A sample survey conducted under the direction of a Harvard University anthropologist. Together with the first rural economic survey (see Zimmerman, below), this report provides data on income, expenditure, investment, and credit in rural Thailand as of the time of the study. Useful historical bench mark.

Artamonoff, George L. State Owned Enterprises in Thailand. Bangkok: U.S. Agency for International Development, 1965. 212 pages.

A compilation of financial and production data on about one hundred state-owned enterprises, based largely on information drawn from the Thai government budget office. This study covers perhaps a third of the existing state-owned enterprises, according to “informed guesses,” and contains two or three pages of descriptive information about each. Includes recommendations for retention or disposition of individual enterprises, essentially based upon economic premises.

Ayal, Eliezer B. “Public Policies in Thailand Under the Constitutional Regime: A Case Study of an Underdeveloped Country.” See Section C-1.

Basic Information Concerning Investment in Thailand. Bangkok: Board of Investment, n.d. Issued about 1960; reissued irregularly.

Information for prospective foreign investors in industrial enterprises in Thailand. Includes some economic data, and sets forth official policy toward foreign investment.

Behrman, Jere R. “Price Elasticity of the Marketed Surplus of a Subsistence Crop.” Journal of Farm Economics, November, 1966, pp. 875-893.

Applies the model developed in the author’s book, cited below, to the case of Thai rice. Some new nonlinear estimates of the total supply response of Thai rice are also presented.

Behrman, Jere R. Supply Response in Underdeveloped Agriculture: A Case Study of Four Major Annual Crops in Thailand, 1937-1963. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company, 1968. 446 pages.

This excellent empirical study develops a model of the Nerlovian type for the supply response in underdeveloped agriculture. The total supply response model is then applied to Thailand’s four annual crops – rice, cassava, corn, and kenaf. Data employed is at the changwad level of aggregation; the marketed supply model is applied only in the case of rice, using nationally aggregated data. The estimates obtained suggest that Thai farmers “respond significantly and substantially” to variables influencing income and risk. The response to price changes was found to be remarkable. Includes an extensive bibliography.

Biriyayodhin, Parayut. “The Management of Government Enterprises Under the Control of the Ministry of Industry.” Unpublished Master’s thesis. Bangkok: Institute of Public Administration, Thammasat University, 1961. 125 pages.

Describes the organization of the Ministry of Industry and its administration of a group of public enterprises in terms of formal structure and operations. Also discusses briefly the background of public enterprises in Thailand.

Board of Trade Directory, 1967. Bangkok: Board of Trade of Thailand.

Arranged in nine sections, each containing about ten to one hundred forty pages: general information on trade, taxation, the economy; chambers of commerce, commercial banks, trade associations; membership directory, Thai Board of Trade (about four hundred firms); exportable products with key to firms handling them; diplomatic, consular, and trade representatives; government organization; legislation affecting trade; airlines, shipping companies, Bangkok hotels. (Available from Board of Trade, 150 Rajbopit Road, Bangkok.)

Economic Survey of Asia and the Far East. See Section E-4.

Fourth Annual Compendium of Assistance to Thailand. See Section C-6.

Freyn, Hubert. “Culture and Economics in Thailand.” See Section G-1.

Golay, Frank H., Ralph Anspach, M.Ruth Pfanner, and Eliezer B. Ayal. Underdevelopment and Economic Nationalism in Southeast Asia. See Section A.

Gorden, W. M. “The Exchange Rate System and the Taxation of Trade,” in T. H. Silcock (ed.), Thailand: Social and Economic Studies in Development. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1967, pp. 151-169.

Describes the Thai multiple exchange rate system, which operated up to 1955, and taxes and controls on trade since 1955. On the multiple exchange rate system see also Ingram, Mousny, and Yand, cited below.

Hughes, Rufus Β., et al. Thailand Agricultural Cooperatives: An Evaluation with Recommendations for Improvement. Bangkok: U.S. Agency for International Development, 1968. 140 pages.

A sharp, informed criticism of the fifty-year-old cooperative movement in Thailand — or actually, of the quasi-cooperative movement, since Thai cooperatives are dominated, in management, operation, and finance, by one or more government ministries.

Ingram, James C. Economic Change in Thailand Since 1850. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1955. 254 pages.

A definitive study of Thai economic history, which traces the economic impact of the West, beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, and provides a valuable perspective for studying the contemporary Thai economy.

Isaraphundh, Glom. “A Comparison of the Legal-Economic Features of Cooperative Organization in the U.S. and Thailand.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1961. 308 pages.

Describes development, organization, and operations of Thai cooperative associations. The study is essentially concerned with institutional characteristics.

Janlekha, Kamol Odd. A Study of the Economy of a Rice-Growing Village in Central Thailand. Bangkok: Ministry of Agriculture, 1955. 199 pages.

A reprint of the author’s doctoral dissertation, submitted to Cornell University in 1955. A careful ordering of economic data collected in the Cornell study of the Thai village of Bang Chan, in Phranakorn Province. Provides substantial insight into the economic facets of life in a central Thai village.

Jittemana, Phimal. “Agriculture in a Developing Economy: A Mid-Century Appraisal of Thailand’s Agriculture.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1959. 256 pages.

Describes basic features and problems of the agricultural sector and its place in the total economic process of Thailand. Also deals briefly with the social features of agriculture, including the role of the wat in village life, rural schools and education, and the social status of the Thai peasant.

Judd, Lawrence C. Dry Rice Agriculture in Northern Thailand. Ithaca: Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program, Data Paper No. 52, 1964. 72 pages + appendices.

Derived from the author’s doctoral dissertation for Cornell University (1961), entitled “Chao Rai: Dry Rice Farming in Northern Thailand.” A detailed study of “swidden farming” (shifting agriculture) in the Baw district of Nam province in Northern Thailand from January, 1958, to May, 1959. Subjects covered by the study include district soil and plant resources, technology, occupations, and economy.

Keesing, Donald B. “Thailand and Malaysia: A Case for a Common Market?” Malayan Economic Review, October, 1965, pp. 102-113.

Suggests that in Southeast Asia the most economically promising common market bets are Thailand and Malaysia.

Keyfitz, Nathan. “Political-Economic Aspects of Urbanization in South and Southeast Asia.” See Section C-5.

Krisanamis, Phairach. “Paddy Price Movements and Their Effect on the Economic Situation of Farmers in the Central Plain of Thailand.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, 1967. 203 pages.

A study of the patterns of price movements of paddy (rough rice) in central Thailand. Also examines the relation between paddy price changes and agricultural income.

Lee, S. Y. “Currency, Banking and Foreign Exchange of Thailand.” Far Eastern Economic Review, November 24, December 1, and December 8, 1960.

A useful descriptive survey of the Thai fiscal system as of 1960, spread over three consecutive issues.

Loftus, John A. “Problems of Fiscal Management.” Thai Journal of Public Administration, July, 1961, pp. 136-150.

A frank and authoritative statement by a former economic advisor to the Government of Thailand on problems of budget and debt management. Also discusses the need for improvement of the commercial banking system and related financial institutions.

Loftus, John A. Reports of the Economic Advisor to the Government of Thailand. Bangkok: Ministry of Finance, 1956-1962. Unpublished.

Thirteen semiannual reports, in memorandum form, on various aspects of the Thai economy and governmental economic affairs. These reports were not prepared for extensive circulation, but as working documents they are useful sources of information on real problems of political economy — economic planning, problems of tax administration, state enterprises, and governmental organization for the administration of economic affairs — in Thailand during the period covered.

Long, Millard F., et al. Economic and Social Conditions Among Farmers in Changwad Khonkaen. Bangkok: U.S. Agency for International Development, 1964. 164 pages.

A general description of an important Northeast province, including resources, production, income and wealth, demography and mobility, government services, and social behavior. Numerous tables, maps, and graphs.

Moerman, Michael. Agricultural Change and Peasant Choice in a Thai Village. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968. 227 pages.

Applies an ethnoscience perspective to a major native institution, rice farming, in order to analyze the rationality of peasant production decisions, and argues that any agency wishing to alter those decisions must first understand their rationale. Perhaps the most detailed anthropological account of Thai wet rice farming available in English, and the first book-length study of the Thai-Lue. The village studied, Ban Ping, is in Chiengrai province in northern Thailand. A revision of the author’s Ph.D. dissertation, “Farming in Ban Phaed: Technological Decisions and Their Consequences for the External Relations of a Thai-Lue Village,” Yale University, 1964.

Moerman, Michael. “Western Culture and the Thai Way of Life.” See Section G-1.

Motooka, Takeshi. “Problems of Land Reform in Thailand with Reference to the Japanese Experience.” Japan’s Future in Southeast Asia, Symposium Series II, The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, July, 1966, pp. 15-28.

Challenges the widespread notion that Thailand is one of the few developing countries without a land tenancy problem. The percentage of farmers who pay some form of rent in the Central Plain (Thailand’s rice bowl) is high and rising, as land values increase and farm enterprise patterns shift from extensive toward intensive farming. (See also Yano, this section.)

Mousny, André. The Economy of Thailand: An Appraisal of a Liberal Exchange Policy. Bangkok: Social Sciences Association Press of Thailand, 1964. 278 pages.

An informative description and analysis of the contemporary Thai economy, including the wartime exchange controls, the multiple-rate exchange system used for several years after the war, and the liberal exchange policy which replaced the multiple rate system. Provides information on industrial development in Thailand through 1961, and seeks to show that continued development is linked with the existing exchange policy. A relatively technical study.

Myint, Hla. “The Inward and Outward Looking Countries of Southeast Asia and the Economic Future of the Region.” Japan’s Future in Southeast Asia, Symposium Series Π, The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, July, 1966, pp. 1-14.

Argues that the basic economic problem of Southeast Asian countries concerns a more effective and complete use of relatively abundant resources. To attain this environment, they should adopt an outward-looking development policy (as opposed to an inward-looking or autarchic policy permitted by the huge internal markets of India and China), making full use of international trade opportunities and regional cooperation. To date, only Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines (in the region) have followed such a policy. An excellent nontechnical introduction to regional economic development problems.

Myrdal, Gunnar. Asian Drama: An Inquiry Into the Poverty of Nations. 3 vols. New York: Random House, 1968. 2,284 pages.

Pertains most directly to India and Southern Asia, but has some general relevance to Thailand, although not as a prime source. Volume I is essentially a political history. Part three of Volume I and all of Volume II are detailed economic and demographic analyses of South and Southeast Asia. Volume III consists largely of appendices in which particular problems are discussed.

Paauw, Douglas S. “Economic Progress in Southeast Asia.” Journal of Asian Studies, November, 1963, pp. 69-92.

Examines differences in the economic performance of Southeast Asian countries in terms of restoring and surpassing their pre-World War H levels of output, and in terms of key variables in the process of economic growth. Useful, well-documented study.

Panitpakdi, Prot. “National Accounts Estimates of Thailand,” in T. H. Silcock (ed.), Thailand Social and Economic Studies in Development. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1967, pp. 105-127.

A brief analysis of official Thai national accounts estimates, focusing on the structures of national production, consumption, and capital formation, and changes in these structures over the five-year period 1958-1963.

Pfanner, David E., and Jasper Ingersoll. “Theravada Buddhism and Village Economic Behavior, A Burmese and Thai Comparison.” See Section G-2.

Platenius, Hans. The Northeast of Thailand: Its Problems and Potentialities. Bangkok: National Economic Development Board, October, 1963. 132 pages.

Describes in some detail the economy of Northeast Thailand, including the economic infrastructure. Suggests planning methods which are suitable to the Northeast and concludes that first priority in economic planning must be given to needs expressed by the villagers themselves.

Rozental, Alek A. “Branch Banking in Thailand.” The Journal of Developing Areas, October, 1968, pp. 37-50.

Concludes that Thailand has a highly developed network of private institutions — at least five hundred — providing general banking facilities outside the capital. Contains hard-to-obtain data on the number and location of commercial banks in the kingdom, their demand and time deposits, and loans and overdrafts. Interesting for the demonstrated connection between the Thai commercial banking system and political power.

Rozental, Alek A. Finance and Development in Thailand. New York: Praeger, 1970. 386 pages.

Definitive study of Thai financial institutions, including sources of finance for private enterprise. Describes and analyzes the relevant institutions, evaluates their performance, and suggests reforms. Contributes significant insights into the politics of Thai banking and finance.

Silcock, T. H. The Economic Development of Thai Agriculture. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1970. 250 pages.

A work of fundamental importance. Careful and informative analysis of agricultural development in Thailand, and a discerning case study of the effects of public policy and Thai developmental efforts upon the rural sector. Most of the data are from the mid-1960’s, and the work lays a foundation for useful longitudinal analysis. This work supplements and extends the more limited treatment of agriculture in Silcock, ed., Thailand: Social and Economic Studies in Development.

Silcock, T. H. “Money and Banking,” in T.H. Silcock (ed.), Thailand: Social and Economic Studies in Development. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1967, pp. 171-205.

An overview of the Thai banking system from the Chulalongkorn era to the present. Good description and analysis of the role of the Bank of Thailand and of the Thai, Chinese, and Western commercial banks in contemporary Thai politics.

Silcock, T. H. “The Rice Premium and Agricultural Diversification,” in T. H. Silcock (ed.), Thailand: Social and Economic Studies in Development. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1967, pp. 231-257.

A well-reasoned analysis concluding that the rice premium (the tax on rice exports) has, for the most part, been economically beneficial. It has encouraged agricultural diversification; and it has made it possible, by keeping wages and the domestic cost of living down, for Thailand to maintain relatively tax-free exports, while promoting import-substituting industrialization. For a somewhat contrary view, see Usher, Section E-2.

Silcock, T. H. (ed.). Thailand: Social and Economic Studies in Development. Canberra: Australian National University Press, in association with Duke University Press, Durham, N.C., 1967. 334 pages.

A thoughtful and perceptive reader, concerned mostly with aspects of the Thai economy, including development problems and prospects, but also containing several significant statements on aspects of Thai society. (Most of the chapters also are cited individually in this bibliography.)

Sithi-Amnuai, Paul. “The Economy of Southern Thailand.” Far Eastern Economic Review, October 25, 1962, pp. 237-243.

A brief sketch of socio-economic characteristics of Southern Thailand, noting the importance to Thailand of the development of this Islamic, Malay-speaking area, which is both minerally and agriculturally rich. Government developmental activities in the area are summarized.

Sithi-Amnuai, Paul (ed.). Finance and Banking in Thailand: A Study of the Commercial System, 1888-1963. Bangkok: Thai Watana Panich, 1964. 224 pages.

Traces development of the Thai financial and banking system from its nineteenth-century beginnings, through the Japanese occupation, to present organizational forms. Discusses the problems of the banking system, its institutional changes and activities. Includes a bibliography on banking, finance, and economic development in Thailand.

Sithi-Amnuai, Paul. “Thai Power Industry.” Far Eastern Economic Review, May 10, 1962, pp. 282-287.

A description of the electric energy facilities of Thailand, which are being rapidly and extensively developed.

Thisyamondol, Pantum, Virach Arromdee, and Millard F. Long. Agricultural Credit in Thailand: Theory, Data, Policy. Bangkok: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Kasetsart University, 1965. 70 pages.

Concludes that the vast majority of Thai farmers are not “problem debtors.” Debts are heavy only among commercial farmers of the Central Plain—those with relatively large incomes. Large debts are infrequent among the semi-subsistence farmers of the Northeast and other regions of the country, not primarily because credit is unavailable but because they do not wish to borrow. The study is based on a sample of 742 farms in forty-one provinces.

Usher, Dan. “Income as a Measure of Productivity: Alternative Comparisons of Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Productivity in Thailand.” Economica, November, 1966, pp. 430-441.

Argues that the usual sectoral productivity measure, based on the ratio of the sector’s income share in national income accounts to the labor force employed in the sector, does not accurately represent productivity. By making various corrections in the Thai data for 1963, the author estimates that the ratio of farm to nonfarm income per worker should be increased from about 1:10 to 1:3.

Usher, Dan. “Thai Interest Rates.” The Journal of Development Studies, April, 1967, pp. 267-279.

Two questions about interest rates in underdeveloped countries are examined, using data from Thailand by way of example: (1) what is the relation between rates of interest charged on loans and rates of return on productive investments? (2) to what extent are village interest rates linked with urban and international interest rates?

Van Roy, Edward. “Economic Dualism and Economic Change Among the Hill Tribes of Thailand.” See Section G-4.

Van Roy, Edward. “An Interpretation of the Northern Thai Peasant Economy.” Journal of Asian Studies, May, 1967, pp. 421- 432.

Examines miang production and consumption as a microcosmic reflection of the Northern Thai peasant economy. Notes the persistence of traditional patterns of economic behavior, which operate in accord with the hierarchical concept of status and rank.

Wijeyewardene, Gehan. “A Note on Irrigation and Agriculture in a North Thai Village.” See Section G-1.

Yang, Shu-Chin. A Multiple Exchange Rate System: An Appraisal of Thailand’s Experience, 1946-1955. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1957. 200 pages.

This study of Thailand’s economic control system in the years after World War Π includes a summary description of the Thai economy, an economic history of the wartime and early post-war years, and a technical analysis of the Thai government’s foreign exchange control efforts. Amounts to a case in Thai public policy as well as an economic analysis.

Yano, Toru. “Land Tenure in Thailand.” Asian Survey, October, 1968, pp. 853-863.

Questions the widely held belief that the Thai farmer is, in the great majority of cases, an owner-cultivator and that Thailand has no serious land problem. Yano’s study indicates that Thailand has two major land problems—fragmentation and customary land possession outside the scope of the land law. (See also Motooka, this section.)

Zimmerman, Carl C. Siam: Rural Economic Survey, 1930-1931. Bangkok: Bangkok Times Press, 1931. 321 pages.

The first of two rural economic surveys conducted in the 1930’s. Along with the later work by Andrews, this benchmark study is a useful point of reference for studying certain patterns of change in the economy of rural Thailand.

2. Foreign Trade

Ayal, Eliezer B. “The Impact of Export Taxes on the Domestic Economy of Underdeveloped Countries.” The Journal of Development Studies, July, 1965, pp. 330-362.

Compares the domestic economic effect of the Thai rice premium and the Burmese Agricultural Marketing Board tax on rice, including their impact on agricultural diversification, balance of payments and terms of trade, the urban sector, and factor and resource transfers. Concludes that, while in the case of Thailand a large part of the export tax on rice is shifted backward, both the Thai and Burmese taxes have a wholesome effect on development by encouraging diversification and resource reallocation.

Gorden, W. M. “The Exchange Rate System and the Taxation of Trade.” See Section E-1.

Gorden, W. M., and H. V. Richter. “Trade and the Balance of Payments,” in T. H. Silcock (ed.), Thailand: Social and Economic Studies in Development. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1967, pp. 128-150.

Describes Thai export trends and prospects, changes in the import patterns, the inflow of foreign capital and aid, and the balance of payments situation, and concludes that Thailand’s economic problems are not, at present, principally trade or balance of payments problems.

Ingram, James C. “Thailand’s Rice Trade and the Allocation of Resources,” in C. D. Cowan (ed.), The Economic Development of Southeast Asia: Studies in Economic History and Political Economy. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1964.

A description of Thailand’s rice trade, plus a study of the development of the ethnic division of Thai labor —i.e., why the Chinese did not become rice farmers or the Thais wage-laborers in the nineteenth century.

Inthachat, Vichien. “Rice Premium and Its Administration.” Unpublished Master’s thesis. Bangkok: Institute of Public Administration, Thammasat University, 1960. 98 pages.

Describes the administrative organization of the rice premium program. Includes statistics on rice production, export prices, and the disposition of funds received from rice sales; also identifies companies selling rice under the rice premium program. Good description of the formal aspects of a significant economic activity of Thai government in the post-war period.

Ramakomud, Sriprinya. “Thailand’s Foreign Trade: Structure and Policies, 1951-1960.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, 1963. 297 pages.

Examines the consequences of three assertedly important factors affecting Thai foreign trade: (1) import trends; (2) ecological factors affecting domestic productivity; and (3) output inelasticity.

Silcock, T. H. “The Rice Premium and Agricultural Diversification.” See Section E-1.

Singh, L. P. The Politics of Economic Cooperation in Asia: A Study of Asian International Organizations. See Section C-1.

Sitton, Gordon R., Chaiyond Chuchart, and Bimbandha S. Na Ayudhaya. The Growing Importance of Upland Crops in the Foreign Trade of Thailand. Bangkok: Kasetsart University, 1962. 115 pages.

Data on production, export, and import of sixteen upland crops. Changes in resource availability, consumer demands, and industrial needs are discussed in relationship to land use. (In Thai and English.)

Unakul, Snoh. “International Trade and Economic Development of Thailand.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1962. 320 pages.

The reversal of Thailand’s trade patterns (export surpluses to import surpluses) is shown to reflect two related post-war developments: (1) basic changes in government policy, and (2) basic changes in the rate and pattern of post-war economic development within the Thai economy.

Usher, Dan. “The Thai Rice Trade,” in T.H. Silcock (ed.), Thailand: Social and Economic Studies in Development. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1967, pp. 207-230.

An informative description of the Thai domestic and export rice trade (production, milling, and marketing), based on extensive field research. Usher concludes that: (1) contrary to popular mythology, the total distribution (“middleman”) cost of retailing rice in Thailand is low by European or American standards; land (2) the abolition of the controversial export tax on rice would benefit the farmer rather than increase monopoly profits. For a somewhat contrary view with respect to the development value of the rice premium, see Silcock, “The Rice Premium and Agricultural Diversification,” Section E-1.

3. Planning and Economic Development

Atthakor, Bunchana. Thailand’s Economic Development, 1950-1960. Bangkok: National Economic Development Board, n.d. 51 pages.

A brief summary and review of economic developments, written by a member of the Thai cabinet. Twenty-one pages in English; the remainder in Thai.

Ayal, Eliezer B. “Private Enterprise and Economic Progress in Thailand.” Journal of Asian Studies, November, 1966, pp. 5-14.

Cautions against “jumping to conclusions” because free enterprise systems, at least in Southeast Asia, have experienced higher rates of growth in recent years than centrally planned ones. Argues that differences between nations in such factors as the availability of entrepreneurs is at least as important as differences in the extent of central planning and government involvement.

Ayal, Eliezer B. “Some Crucial Issues in Thailand’s Economic Development.” Pacific Affairs, Summer, 1961, pp. 157-164.

A sharp criticism of some of the recommendations of the World Bank report, A Public Development Program for Thailand, and an argument that economic development will require abandoning emphasis upon a rice economy and using modern production methods in a vigorous campaign of modernization.

Ayal, Eliezer B. “Thailand’s Six-Year National Economic Development Plan.” Asian Survey, January, 1962, pp. 33-43.

Outlines the official developmental plan for 1961-1966 and assesses prospects for future development in Thailand along the lines contemplated in the plan.

Ayal, Eliezer B. “Value Systems and Economic Development in Japan and Thailand.” Journal of Social Issues, January, 1963, pp. 44-51.

Argues that certain characteristics of Thai society are substantially inconsistent with the development of entrepreneurship among Thais, at least in a manner comparable to the experience in Japan. An implicitly pessimistic essay about prospects for rapid and extensive economic development in Thailand.

Behrman, Jere R. “Significance of Intracountry Variations for Asian Agricultural Prospects: Central and Northeastern Thailand.” Asian Survey, March, 1968, pp. 157-173.

Examines variations in agricultural productivity (using rice production as the main indicator) across the provinces of Central and Northeastern Thailand.

Bell, Peter. “The Role of the Entrepreneur in Economic Development: A Case Study in Thailand.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1967.

An attempt to develop a theory of entrepreneurship that permits the identification of entrepreneurs and predicts the circumstances of their emergence. Based on a sample survey of some eighty Thai entrepreneurs in the modern manufacturing sector, all of whom had received special promotional privileges, this study examines the factors most affecting their decisions to enter business.

Brown, L. R. Agricultural Diversification and Economic Development in Thailand: A Case Study. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Division, Foreign Agricultural Report No. 8, March, 1963. 34 pages.

Relates agricultural diversification to Thai economic development. Shows that Thailand, traditionally a rice monoculture, increased production of crops other than rice (principally corn, cassava, and kenaf) at an average rate of 18 percent per year over the decade 1953-1963.

Buranasiri, Prayad, and Snoh Unakul. “Planning in Thailand: Importance of Political Determination.” The Philippine Economic Journal, IV, 2, 1965, pp. 335-340.

An interesting commentary on Thai central planning activities by the Secretary-General and the Chief of the Evaluation Division of the Thai central planning agency. The fundamental Thai planning problem, they feel, is the lack of a sense of urgency on the part of Thai leadership.

Cost-Benefit Study of Roads in North and Northeast Thailand. Bangkok: U.S. Agency for International Development, 1966. 39 pages + annexes.

Attempts to determine the comparative cost and economic effect of three road-building projects in North and Northeast Thailand. Analysis is based upon road usage, upon changes in agricultural production and marketing, and upon the growth of village enterprises, land value, and road-construction training. Includes a brief discussion of the effects of roads upon security and village contact with government officials.

Hanks, Lucien M. “The Corporation and the Entourage: A Comparison of Thai and American Social Organization.” Catalyst, Summer, 1966, pp. 55-63.

Examines the organization and functions of the Thai entourage (or clique) as the Thai counterpart of the Western sociological concept of “corporation.” Contrasts authority, recruitment, behavioral and leadership patterns of these two basic social units and discusses the implications of this contrast for the study and planning of economic development in Thailand.

Haring, Joseph E., and Larry E. Westphal. “Financial Policy in Postwar Thailand: External Equilibrium and Domestic Development.” Asian Survey, May, 1968, pp. 364-377.

Describes the role of Thai financial policy in sustaining growth without inflation in the post-war period. Sketches the steps taken to restore the currency, develop the banking system, promote trade, and stabilize prices without relying on continued trade and exchange controls. Data on prices, income, exchange rates, cost of living, money supply — from pre-World War II to about 1965.

Higher Education and Development in Southeast Asia. See Section F-1.

Hirschman, Albert O. Development Projects Observed. Washington, D.C: The Brookings Institute, 1967. 197 pages.

A study of eleven World Bank-financed development projects, one of them an irrigation project in central Thailand, by a distinguished economist in the development field. These are not case studies in the usual sense. Hirschman’s purpose was to learn something about project behavior — i.e., the ways in which decision-making is molded and changed by the specific nature of the development project undertaken.

King, John A. Economic Development Projects and Their Appraisal: Cases and Principles from the Experience of the World Bank. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1967. 530 pages.

Outlines the Bank’s approach to the problems and techniques of project e valuation — viz., economic, technical, managerial, organizational, commercial, and financial. Parts H, ΠΙ, and IV are devoted to an evaluation of thirty major development projects of the Bank, including the Yanhee multipurpose dam project in Thailand (pp. 191-203), a case illustrating problems of market analysis. A valuable case book.

Loftus, John A. Reports of the Economic Advisor to the Government of Thailand. See Section E-1.

Madge, Charles. Survey Before Development in Thai Villages. See Section C-5.

Meagher, Robert F. Public International Development Financing in Thailand. New York: Columbia University Law School, International Legal Research Program, February, 1963. 103 pages.

An informative study of external development assistance (excluding military aid and suppliers’ credits), from 1946 through mid-1962. Describes Thai economic planning and development arrangements up to the early 1960’s, and presents a number of case studies of foreign aid in transportation, electric power, and livestock trade. Includes tabular data on U.S. aid to Thailand, 1946-1962; foreign aid to Thailand, 1946- 1962; and data on Thailand’s six-year plan.

Mitani, Katsumi. “Key Factors in the Development of Thailand,” in Economic Development Issues: Greece, Israel, Taiwan, Thailand. New York: Committee for Economic Development, 1968, pp. 159-215.

A general survey of economic conditions in Thailand, emphasizing factors contributing to economic stability, and also the roles of education, the Thai-Chinese community, and foreign private investment in regard to economic growth.

Moerman, Michael. “Kinship and Commerce in a Thai-Lao Village.” See Section G-1.

Morgan, Theodore, and Nyle Spoelstra (eds.). Economic Interdependence in Southeast Asia. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1969. 424 pages.

Papers presented at a conference in Bangkok in 1967. Parts I and V focus on the problems and prospects of economic cooperation in Southeast Asia. (Southeast Asia is broadly defined here to include India, Pakistan, and Ceylon, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan.) One of the conference papers deals specifically with Thailand: Suparb Yassundara and Yune Huntrakoon, “Some Salient Aspects of Thailand’s Trade 1955-64,” pp. 127-150.

Muscat, Robert J. Development Strategy in Thailand: A Study of Economic Growth. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1966. 310 pages.

A broad and informative analysis that seeks to define a strategy to maximize growth-producing decisions. Considers significant Thai economic features, problems, and opportunities in terms of market characteristics and relationships to an ideal type of market which would presumably nurture economic growth.

Muscat, Robert J. “Growth and the Free Market.” Malayan Economic Review, April, 1966, pp. 114-125.

Using Thailand as a case in point, examines and refutes the view that economic development and the free market are not compatible.

Myint, Hla. “The Inward and Outward Looking Countries of Southeast Asia and the Economic Future of the Region.” See Section E-1.

Northeast Development Plan 1962-1966. Bangkok: National Economic Development Board, n.d. 109 pages + 25 pages of statistical tables.

The basic plan for development of the fifteen Northeastern provinces, approved by the Cabinet in October, 1961. Contains extensive information on many features of the Northeast, authorizes a series of projects, and sets targets for private sector development.

Parker, Glen L. Accelerating the Rate of Economic Growth: A Study in Economic Policy. Bangkok: National Economic Development Board, 1963. 299 pages.

Part I of the final report of an industrial advisor to the government of Thailand. Essentially an analysis of institutional problems which impede economic development.

Parker, Glen L. The Industrial Development of Thailand: A Summary of Recommendations. Bangkok: National Economic Development Board, 1963. 346 pages.

Part II of the final report of the industrial advisor. E valuates progress made in industrial development in the early 1960’s, and discusses problems of industrial development, along with the advisor’s recommendations concerning those problems. This report, like its companion, is primarily concerned with policy, rather than with the analysis of noninstitutional economic characteristics.

Performance Evaluation of Development in Thailand for 1965 under the National Economic Development Plan, 1961-1966. Bangkok: National Economic Development Board, June, 1966. 58 pages.

Data on Plan outlays and development expenditures for the year 1965, plus summary statements concerning population and manpower, agriculture and cooperatives, industrial, mineral, and power development, transportation and communications, social welfare, public health and education.

Platenius, Hans. The Northeast of Thailand: Its Problems and Potentialities. See Section E-1.

A Public Development Program for Thailand. Baltimore: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1959. 301 pages.

A broad survey of the Thai economy and its social and governmental foundations, prepared by a team of World Bank economists. Includes a “program” or set of recommendations for economic development, laying heavy stress upon the future place of agriculture and the strengthening by government of the economy’s infrastructure.

Rozental, Alek A. Finance and Development in Thailand. See Section E-1.

Sharp, Lauriston. “Cultural Differences and Southeast Asian Research.” See Section G-1.

Siffin, William J. “Economic Development,” in Joseph L. Sutton (ed.), Problems of Politics and Administration in Thailand. Bloomington: Institute of Training for Public Service, Indiana University, 1962, pp. 125-151.

A nontechnical survey of problems and prospects of economic development in Thailand. Indicates that while a concern with economic development is inevitable, Thailand has not been faced by developmental problems of crisis proportions.

Silcock, T. H. “Outline of Economic Development, 1945-1965,” in T. H. Silcock (ed.), Thailand: Social and Economic Studies in Development. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1967, pp. 1-26.

A perceptive summary of Thai economic development over the twenty-year period 1945-1965.

Silcock, T.H. “Promotion of Industry and the Planning Process,” in T. H. Silcock (ed.), Thailand: Social and Economic Studies in Development. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1967, pp. 258-288.

Describes efforts to promote industrialization and national planning, focusing on the emergence of state industries, efforts to foster private and foreign investment, and the development of a national planning capacity.

Sitton, Gordon R. The Role of the Farmer in the Economic Development of Thailand. Bangkok: First Conference on Agricultural Economics of the Agricultural Economics Society of Thailand, February, 1962, 22 pages. Also issued, New York: Council on Economic Affairs, September, 1962.

Argues that a microeconomic approach, focusing on actions of individual farms and firms, is more fruitful for economic development than the macro-approach, which treats agriculture as a unit. Succinct analysis of needs and opportunities for the continuing development of Thai agriculture through the provision of governmental support and services for farm operators.

The Six Year Economic Development Plan. Bangkok: International Translations, October 28, 1960, pp. 481-487.

This English-language summary of the 1961-1966 national development plan is published as part of the “unofficial” translation of the Royal Thai Government Gazette.

Soonthornsima, Chinawoot. “A Macroeconomic Model for Economic Development of Thailand.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1963. 189 pages.

Includes a general description of the Thai economy and sets forth a macroeconomic mathematical model which might be used in planning the economic development of Thailand.

Summary of the Second National Economic and Social Development Plan (1967-1971). Bangkok: National Economic Development Board, n.d. 15 pages.

A reproduction of the text of Chapter 1 of the Plan, setting out its forty-five major premises. Calls for emphasis upon private-sector development and increased expenditures in agriculture, particularly for irrigation, and stresses transport and communications development as the largest component in the plan. The plan target calls for an average annual growth in gross (real) domestic product of 8.5 percent per year.

Wharton, Clifton R., Jr. Research on Agricultural Development in Southeast Asia. New York: Agricultural Development Council, 1965. 62 pages.

An expanded version of a paper published in the Journal of Farm Economics, December, 1963. Includes an inventory of about fifty then-current or recent agricultural economic research studies concerning Thailand.

Wilcox, Clair. The Planning and Execution of Economic Development in Southeast Asia. Cambridge: Harvard University Center for International Affairs, 1965. 37 pages.

Includes a three-page discussion of organization for planning in Thailand, with some personal comments on problems of carrying out an effective developmental strategy.

4. Statistical Sources

Advance Report: Household Expenditures Survey B.E. 2505. Bangkok: National Statistical Office, 1963. 105 pages.

A comprehensive report of a two-year survey in the Bangkok-Thonburi metropolitan area based on a sample of 2,500 families. Includes data on family composition, income expenditure, saving, and consumption pattern. Average monthly income of single-person units was 540 baht ($27); for families of eight or more persons the amount was 2,265 baht ($114). For the entire population surveyed, the reported per capita monthly income was 276 baht ($14).

Agricultural Statistics of Thailand. Bangkok: Division of Agricultural Economics, Ministry of Agriculture. First published, 1955; latest known edition, 1961.

Statistical summaries and indices on agricultural production, including rice, timber, forest products, fish, oil seeds, fiber crops, livestock, etc. Agricultural exports information. Data on rainfall, irrigation, population, and income. Considerable variation in reliability of data. Supposed to be published annually. (In Thai and English.)

Amphoe - Tambon Statistical Directory of 14 ARD Changwads. See Section C-5.

Andrews, James M. Siam: Second Rural Economic Survey, 1934-1935. See Section E-1.

Annual Economic Report of the Bank of Thailand. Bangkok: Department of Economic Research, Bank of Thailand. Published annually since 1943.

Contains statistics on money and banking, balance of payments, the national budget, and the operations of the Bank of Thailand. Probably the most reliable economic data source in Thailand. (In Thai and English.)

Bulletin of Statistics. Bangkok: National Statistical Office. Published quarterly since 1952.

Statistics on weather, population, education, agriculture, business, trade, transport, money and banking, public revenues and expenditures, and price levels. The different series vary in reliability. (In Thai and English.)

Census of Agriculture. Bangkok: National Statistics Office, 1963.

A series of seventy-two pamphlets, one for each province plus a national summary. Data on area holdings, land tenure, land use, planted and harvested area under cultivation, use of power and agricultural implements, fertilizer, number of livestock and so on.

Changwad-Amphoe Statistical Directory. Bangkok: National Statistical Office, 1965. 75 pages.

Maps and data (crops, occupations, schools, teachers, natural resources, agricultural holdings, population, irrigated crop lands, etc.) on each of seventy-one provinces and their districts. (In Thai and English.)

Economic Survey of Asia and the Far East. Bangkok: Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East. Published annually since 1947.

Since 1957 each issue has examined some major economic problem of the ECAFE region. In addition, current economic conditions are reviewed in each volume of the Survey. A valuable reference volume, with its usefulness somewhat limited by the quality of certain data. Most data are from official agencies of the member states.

Education Statistics. See Section F-2.

Land Utilization in Thailand, 1961. Bangkok: Division of Agricultural Economics, Ministry of Agriculture, 1963. 25 pages.

Statistics on land use in Thailand, including data on total land, forest land, swamp and other nontillable land, and farm holdings, by province and region.

Monthly Report. Bangkok: Department of Economic Research, Bank of Thailand.

Current financial statistics, economic notes, and commercial laws and regulations. Includes statistical data on commercial and savings banks, money supply, public debt, bank clearings, wholesale prices, cost of living, exchange rates, and exports and imports. Successor, in January, 1961, to the Bank’s Current Statistics.

National Income of Thailand, 1965 Edition. Bangkok: National Economic Development Board, June, 1966. 163 pages.

A comprehensive report, including statistical data on the overall economy, consumption expenditure, and capital formation. Statistical series cover the period 1957-1965. Data sources are identified, and computational premises and methods are clearly explained. Revised GNP data indicate a growth rate for the Thai economy, 1957-1963, of 6.9 per cent in constant prices. The first sixty-nine pages of the report are in Thai; explanatory statements and statistical tables are in English.

The Siam Directory. See Section 1-3.

Statistical Bibliography: An Annotated Bibliography of Thai Government Statistical Publications. See Section H.

Statistical Yearbook, 1965. Bangkok: National Statistical Office, 1966. 548 pages.

Since 1916, at least, a statistical “yearbook” has been issued by one agency or another of the Thai government. This is the twenty-sixth volume in the series, containing data for recent years up to 1965. Earlier volumes were issued annually or biennially. The 1965 volume, like its predecessors, is a collection of statistics on population, economic activity, and public finance. The statistics must be used with caution.

Thailand: Facts arid Figures, 1965. Bangkok: Department of Technical and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of National Development, 1965. 138 pages.

A useful reference volume. Includes a summary of governmental organization and economic characteristics, and sixty-five tables, on money and banking, public finance, trade and exchange, national income, prices, education, and foreign aid.

Thailand: Its Economic Products. Bangkok: Department of Commercial Intelligence, Ministry of Economic Affairs, 1960. 61 pages.

Statistical information about Thai raw materials and industrial products available for purchase by foreign traders.

Thailand Official Yearbook, 1968. See Section A.

Thailand Population Census. Bangkok: National Statistical Office, 1961-1962.

A series of seventy-two pamphlets, one for each province plus a national summary. Each pamphlet contains data on the age, sex, occupation and work status, literacy, education, religion, citizenship, marital status, housing, and place of birth of members of the population. Data are current as of April, 1960. The range of data acquired in the census was limited, but the quality of the statistics seems high. The previous census, taken in 1947, is not of comparable reliability.

Zimmerman, Carl C. Siam: Rural Economic Survey, 1930-1931. See Section E-1.