ABSTRACT
Thailand has been proclaimed to be an NIC (newly industrializing country) by international organizations such as the World Bank (1993), but the country faces acute problems that are rarely discussed. Although economic growth has been impressive, the areas of human development and income distribution are deteroriating. In fact, this pattern of uneven development can invariably be seen as a trade-off between the agricultural and industrial sectors. For years, the rural poor have been trying to solve their present difficulties by persistent migration to seek work in Bangkok, principally in the so-called ‘informal sectors’.
