Rural Development and Agricultural Growth in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand

Understanding economic growth is central to the study of development, and rural economic growth is an important aspect of economic growth. Historically, rural agriculture has employed most people in most countries, and continues to do so today. Nevertheless, the causal relationships between economic growth and growth in agriculture remain poorly understood. This book focuses on economic growth in the agricultural sectors of Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Starting from similar positions, the agricultural sectors of these economies have diverged considerably over the last 40 years. The volume investigates the ways in which policy, institutions, investments, resource constraints and the reallocation of agricultural labor have driven this divergence. The volume documents the interplay of endowments, technology, the accumulation of productive factors, policy, and advocacy in the rural sectors of these three countries. Each contributes in its own way to an explanation of the past.