Balance and Imbalances in Village Economy: Acces to Water and Livelihoods in Three Villages of Central Thailand

Abstract

"Village economies in Asia are undergoing a growing process of integration to the national and wider cultural and economic spheres. Factor endowments, transportation facilities and other socioeconomic and human factors account for differentiated responses. In the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand, access to water is a crucial factor governing agricultural diversification and intensification. This paper compares the household structure, the land resources, the means of livelihood, sources of income and their distribution among households in three villages with contrasting levels of water control. It is shown that while there is a huge gap in land productivity among the three villages, economic diversification, both agricultural and non-agricultural, operates a rebalancing of household incomes, without however totally bridging the gap. The implications for planning of water resource development are discussed."