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The WeD research in Thailand addresses the rapid transformation of Thai society which the country has been experiencing over the last three decades. In particular it asks how this can be considered to have contributed to the wellbeing of all of its people? Although compared with the other three WeD research countries, Thailand has the highest per capita income, its strong economic growth and high incomes have been accompanied by a remarkable persistence in the inequality of the distribution of income. The WeD study focuses in two distinctive regions of the country. The Northeast is often acknowledged as the poorest, while the South, generally, has fared well and is a relatively prosperous area. Within each region, however, there is diversity and the WeD research is designed to explore that. In both areas, the study is concerned to capture the distinctiveness of the ways in which people construct their wellbeing.

 

In the Northeast, the research project is based in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, of Khon Kaen University, while in the South it is based in the Faculty of Natural Resources at the Prince of Songkla University. In both centres the research teams comprise of a range of experts from different disciplines including sociology, economics, urban studies, public administration, health and population studies, and development studies.

Rural study sites

Three rural suites have been selected in both the Northeast and South:

  1. Ban Lao (Northeast - Khon Kaen Province) is about 15 kilometres away from Khon Khaen town. Although agriculture remains prominent, a great number of people are involved in off-farm activities, such as working in factories and on construction sites. This village has good infrastructure and is well-connected to the thriving economy of Khon Kaen town.

  2. Ban Tha (Northeast - Roi-Et Province) is surrounded by a rich variety of natural resources. Most of the households in this village are rice farmers, but they also earn their livelihoods from the exploitation of other natural resources, as well as migrating to work in modern sectors of the economy. This village is moderately well connected to modern urban centres.

  3. Ban Dong (Northeast - Mukdaharn Province) is located in the middle of Phu Phan Mountain range and is distant from Mukdaharn Provincial town. The village is located in a national park, and consiquently the villagers have no property rights in land. Currently their livelihood strategies depend on a mixture of cash cropping (cassava), cattle raising, exploitation of forest products, and migration. This village is a relatively remote community in modern Thailand.

  4. Ban Thung Nam (South - Songkhla Province) was established over 50 years ago. Altogether there are over 300 households with the proportion of Thai Muslims and Thai Buddhists being about 70:30. Occupations include rubber production, rice production, animal raising, fruit production, hired labour in rubber plantation and labouring in nearby factories. The village is considered moderately remote with roads from the village of poor quality.

  5. Ban Chai Khao (South - Songkhla Province) is a large rural community located on the outskirts of Hat Yai city. While it is near a large city, much of its economic activity is still dependent on rubber plantantions and other forms of agriculture. This juxtaposition of agricultural-rural and the modern-urban is increasingly unusual in Thailand. Its ethnic composition features an equal proportion of Thai Buddhists and Thai Muslims. Access to all government facilities is very good for the community due to its peri-urban location.

    Urban Sites

    In Thailand the focus of the urban studies are two rapidly growing provincial centres. Khon Kaen in the Northeast and Hat Yai in the South. In Thai studies, the problems related with urbanization have primarily concentrated on Bangkok, but there has been significant urban growth in the provinces. Khon Kaen and Hat Yai are two growing and thriving cities and in both areas combine 'slums' and more settled communities, Klai Talaad in the South and Nai Muang in the Northeast, have been identified as focal points for the research.

See also country site at www.wed-thailand.org


 



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