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The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand
Volume XII, 2020

The development model adopted by most ‘emerging market̓ economies
including Thailand, relying on international trade and domestic market integration
linking cities, ports and industrial centers across the country, inevitably brings

up the issue of how to manage or mitigate inequality created by appreciation
of rents and land values.

In previous decades discussion of land management in Thailand and
neighbouring countries has focused more particularly on needs of rural
communities for land, whether for subsistence or as a source of cash income,
and restrictions on access or occupation of forest areas. Acquisition of land for
expanding urban and industrial use and tourism intensifies conflicts over land
rights and planning permissions. Less attention has been given to problems of
land management in urban areas with the result that, as in most other emerging
market countries, low-income households are often crowded in low-quality
accommodation in inconvenient locations with sub-standard utilities. Middle-
income households with salaries or other regular source of income cope with
rising land prices by financing purchase of homes and business properties with
long-term loans offered by commercial banks and the Government Housing
Bank. Across the country, in rural, urban and peri-urban areas, appreciation of
rents and land prices linked to current and anticipated economic development
continues to influence the distribution of power and wealth and can be expected
to reinforce social division for the foreseeable future.

The sources used include statistics on land use published by the Land
Development Department, land area registered by the Department of Lands,
reference prices published by the Treasury Department and census and survey
tables published by the National Statistical Office including the Population and
Housing Census, Census of Agriculture, Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Household

Socio-Economic Survey (SES). Past issues of the Statistical Yearbook of Thailand
and other national and international sources have been used to illustrate the scale
of changes in land use, registered private title and monetary value that have taken
place since 1960.
The analysis begins with the historical background of land use, registration
and wealth; including an estimation of the total value of private land and the

breakdown between farmland and land for housing and other purposes. There

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