Sub-contracting in rural Thailand

Abstract

This article is based on field research conducted in three villages in Muang district of Khon Kaen province in the Northeast region of Thailand. It provides an outline of the subcontracting system between manufacturing industry and rural villages, by using the fishnet industry as a case study. It shows how the industry has emerged and expanded in Khon Kaen, making the province the centre of Thai fishnet export industry. The article also illustrates the dynamic relationship between factories, agents and home-based workers, and assesses the social and economic impacts of the industry upon rural village communities in the northeastern Thai context.