Regular readers of New Mandala will know that I sometimes like to produce graphs, partly to display my statistical sophistication! These two are my modest contribution to recent discussion on New Mandala about the underlying economic drivers of political conflict. They both relate to the productivity of labour (expressed in terms of GDP per worker) in the agricultural and industrial sectors. All data are taken from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators.
The first graph starkly illustrates the productivity gap between agriculture and industry in Thailand. This gap widened notably during the rapid economic growth of the 1980s and 1990s, but narrowed after the economic crisis of 1997. (Units are $US)