Bangkok as a magnet for rural labour: changing conditions, 1900-1970.

PIP: This article describes labor force shifts, in Thailand, from rural areas to Bangkok during 1900-1970 and is a revision of a chapter from a doctoral thesis. Urban growth of Bangkok occurred primarily after World War II. Pre-war wages in rural areas were higher than coolie wages in Bangkok. Opportunity costs of changing occupations were high. Chinese immigration was the key to development of non-farm occupations. The Chinese from Siam were drawn to higher wages in Bangkok than were possible in South China ports. After the war, the Lewis-Fei and Ranis migration model fits a pattern of migration that adjusts the disequilibrium between urban and rural markets. There are shifts from low productivity rural sectors to urban high productivity sectors. Capital investment in commerce and industry raised urban labor productivity. The wage data suggest a growing gap between urban and rural sectors postwar. Rail travel during the 1950s brought higher wages for the unskilled in railroad construction. There was high agricultural productivity relative to labor input due to availability of land. Underpopulation meant little unemployment. After 1950, conditions changed. The population growth rate increased. More in rural areas lived below the poverty line. Low rice productivity constrained rural wages and incomes during the 1950s and 1960s. The more favored commercial crops needed less labor. Chinese immigration declined, and demand for labor increased in urban areas. Low urban wages due to cheap labor stimulated profits and growth. Major roads connected Bangkok to the south and the north. Bangkok was viewed as a magical and desirable place.^ieng

Bangkok's population and the ministry of the capital in early 20th century Thai history.

"This paper...focuses on two related themes which together enable us to put the emergence of Bangkok as a primate city in the 19th century in clearer perspective. First, we review population estimates for Bangkok. Here, the major point is this: Bangkok's population was much smaller than often suggested in the 19th century.... As long as the area of Bangkok was confined, and the population small, city regulation could be maintained within the traditional Siamese social structures, with Bangkok being, in effect, a royal domain.... The second part of our paper looks at the creation and the role of the Ministry of the Capital, formed in 1892.... The linking [of] Bangkok administrative structure with royal interests produced both a physical and economic stamp on Bangkok which has had an enduring effect on Bangkok's development."