Editor’s choice
Editor’s choice
A 40-year study of rural Thailand shows that as education, jobs and livelihoods changed, more people left their villages for work—but many also returned. The paper argues that this ongoing movement between village and elsewhere is central to understanding Thailand’s incomplete agrarian transition.
Drawing on longitudinal research conducted between 1982 and 2022, this article examines how migration patterns have changed as Thailand has moved from low-income to upper-middle-income status. The study follows two villages that have shifted from largely semi-subsistence rice farming towards more diverse and increasingly prosperous livelihoods.
Over time, more villagers gained education and left to pursue work across different places and sectors. Yet these departures were not permanent or one-directional: many people returned, often maintaining connections, responsibilities and economic ties to their home villages.
The authors argue that departure and return are co-produced by conditions both within rural communities and across the wider Thai economy. Rather than signalling a simple exit from agriculture and rural life, circulation remains a defining feature of Thailand’s uneven and incomplete agrarian transition.
Perspective / This article offers lessons from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, on turning circular economy policy into local action.
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