As mentioned before, until the 1970s the agricultural sector still contributed a greater
part to the state in terms of economic growth, employment and foreign exchange. There is no
doubt the Thai state might have benefited from exporting more primary products to the world
market, even though the total productivity of this sector increased at a decreasing rate or
nearly stagnated. The point should be made that productivity in agriculture would keep on
increasing if property rights in land were not ill-defined and effectively enforced by a strong