Reform, Rails, and Rice: Political Railroads and Local Development in Thailand
Reform, Rails, and Rice: Political Railroads and Local Development in Thailand
How do external threats on state sovereignty benefit local development? Christopher Paik of New York University Abu Dhabi and his co-author look at Thailand’s railroad projects in the late-19th and early 20th centuries as an example of a state’s strategic response to colonial encroachment. By transporting government officials and establishing a permanent administrative presence, the railways served to ensure Thailand’s sovereignty over peripheral regions and bring them under direct governance.
In this Quantitative History Webinar, Christopher Paik will explain how these regions, which were long considered economically unviable and disconnected from Bangkok, gained rail access due to their strategic importance and, in turn, witnessed urbanization and increased agricultural production.
Christopher’s co-author: Jessica Vechbanyongratana (Chulalongkorn University)
Discussant: Duol Kim, Professor of Economics, Myongji University (currently Visiting Professor, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences)
Live on Zoom on March 9, 2023
16:00 Hong Kong/Beijing/Singapore
08:00 London | 12:00 Dubai | 17:00 Tokyo | 19:00 Sydney
The Quantitative History (QH) Webinar Series aims to provide researchers, teachers, and students with an online intellectual platform to keep up to date with the latest research in the field, promoting the dissemination of research findings and interdisciplinary use of quantitative methods in historical research. The QH Webinar Series, now entering its fourth year, is co-organized by the International Society for Quantitative History, HKU Business School, and Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Series is now substantially supported by the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. [AoE/B-704/22-R]). 量化歷史網上講座系列由香港大學陳志武和馬馳騁教授聯合發起，旨在介紹前沿量化歷史研究成果、促進同仁交流，推廣量化方法在歷史研究中的應用。本系列講座由國際量化歷史學會、香港大學經管學院和香港人文社會研究所全力支持和承辦。從2023年開始，系列得到中國香港特別行政區研究資助局卓越學科領域計劃的重要資助 (項目編號[AoE/B-704/22-R])。
Conveners:
Professor Zhiwu Chen
Dr. Chicheng Ma
