ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the process of industrial deconcentration in Thailand, manifest through the emerging phenomenon of the Extended Bangkok Metropolitan Region (EBMR), in relation to the extension of economic efficiency and thus the requisite conditions for further industrial development. It explores the EBMR from various viewpoints, including its origins, nature and role. The chapter describes consideration of the implications of the process of extended ‘metropolitanisation’, and addresses the question ‘does short-distance industrial deconcentration stifle the conditions necessary for a wider spread of industrial activity within Thailand’s spatial economy?’ It utilises the Thai experience to look critically at the concept of extended region-based metropolitanisation as originally set out by Ginsburg et al. in 1991. Uneven industrial development is to be found in most developing countries, although to varying degrees. Modern industrialisation has in most cases initially occurred in the larger cities, where basic infrastructure and facilities for industrial development are available, and has in most cases continue to prosper there.
