Economic and Housing Adjustment of Migrants in Greater Bangkok

Abstract

Like most of the less developed countries, Thailand which is the focus of this study, faces a high rate of urban population growth caused by both massive cityward migration and high rates of natural increase. Analyses of urbanization in Thailand (Goldstein, 1972 and 1977) indicate that the level of urbanization increased from 10 percent in 1947 to 15 percent in 1970. During these years the urban population grew at the rate of about 5 percent per year, about half of which was due to migration. During this period Greater Bangkok, which contained over half of all urban popula? tion and accounted for over three-fifths of the urban growth, has increased its primacy in Thailand's urban structure. By the end of 1970 the capital's population was 33 times that of Chiengmai, the nation's next largest city. These statistics, indicating the large volume of cityward migration in Thailand, particularly that moving into Greater Bangkok, emphasize the need for increased attention to research on the consequences of migration, especially the adjustment of migrants to the urban setting. Although many aspects of migration have been studied for Bangkok, only one effort has dealt with adjustment and it was very limited in scope (Textor, 1956). The present report is an attempt to investigate the process of adjustment of migrants to the urban way of life, measured in terms of occupational engagement and housing conditions. In particular, two specific questions are raised: 1) Do migrants in the city differ in these two characteristics from city natives and non-migrants residing in their places of origin? and 2) Do migrants adjust to the urban way of life and, if so, how?