Study Of Policy Change Research Articles

Public Housing in Thailand: A Study of Policy Change, 1940–78

Housing, along with food and clothing, is a basic need of all people. It is therefore a significant issue which policy-makers in both developed and developing nations must address. Housing is a complex, multi faceted commodity, the production of which involves numerous other support services, including construction industries such as brick making and cement manufacture, promotion and distribution, finan cing and, in most cases, government regulations. In most countries, it straddles both the public and private sectors. Most important of all it can be both an economic and political issue. In Third World nations, rapid population and urban growth make housing an urgent concern. In Thailand, housing has been and still is a critical problem although at present only 20 per cent of the total population of the Kingdom reside in urban areas. Housing prob lems are largely a reflection of urban growth. Thailand, like other Third World nations, is undergoing rapid urbanization and hence faces housing problems. Housing accounts for the second largest por tion of any Thai individual householder's annual expenditure. This study will survey environmental factors that have a particular bearing on housing policy in Thailand. This is followed by a review of tradi tional Thai housing policy from 1940 to 1972, and finally an analysis of the new policy adopted in late 1972 and its prospects.