Building Social Capital in Thailand Fibers, Finance and Infrastructure [Paperback]

This 1998 book is a study of how the unique organization of Thai society has impacted on its economy.This book examines the recent rapid economic expansion in Thailand, and in Southeast Asia more generally prior to 1997. In a highly original argument, Unger considers the unique organization of Thai society, and the impact this has had on the country's institutions, and their political and economic outcomes. Unger takes an interdisciplinary approach, building on the literatures of social capital and embedded autonomy. The book's general, comparative discussion of social infrastructure is supplemented by case studies on specific sectors.This book examines the recent rapid economic expansion in Thailand, and in Southeast Asia more generally prior to 1997. In a highly original argument, Unger considers the unique organization of Thai society, and the impact this has had on the country's institutions, and their political and economic outcomes. Unger takes an interdisciplinary approach, building on the literatures of social capital and embedded autonomy. The book's general, comparative discussion of social infrastructure is supplemented by case studies on specific sectors.This book examines the recent rapid economic expansion in Thailand, and in Southeast Asia more generally. In a highly original argument, Unger considers the unique organization of Thai society, and the impact this has had on the country's institutions, and their political and economic outcomes. Unger takes an interdisciplinary approach, building on the literatures of social capital and embedded autonomy. The book's general, comparative discussion of social infrastructure is supplemented by case studies of specific sectors.Part I: 1. Striking bargains in Thailand; 2. Social capital and embedded agents; 3. Sociability and social capital: a tale of two Thailands; 4. Thailand's political economy; Part II: 5. Bargains between bankers and bureaucrats; 6. Controls and contestation: the Thai textile industry; 7.l3%