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Neoliberal Urbanism, Contested Cities and Housing in Asia pp 71–91Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

When Neoliberalization Meets Clientelism: Housing Policies for Low- and Middle-Income Housing in Bangkok

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Part of the book series: The Contemporary City ((TCONTCI))

Abstract

The need of providing concrete solutions to solving housing problems in Thailand led to the establishment of the National Housing Authority in 1973. The role of this public agency was undermined, however, by the government’s financial viability, while the private housing sector came to thrive. The financial liberalization and steady economic growth boosting private sector housing investments in response to greater housing demands of the urbanites may represent neoliberal transformation. This chapter contends that this notion is equivocal. An investigation of two public housing policies for low- and middle-income groups in Bangkok introduced during Thaksin’s regime in the 2000s reveals that housing populism supporting the legitimacy of the ruling political clout mediates Thailand’s housing development between the neoliberal influence and clientelism.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    One baht is equivalent to US$0.032.

  2. 2.

    Other public housing institutions included the Housing Division launched in 1940 and the Housing Bureau in 1942 by the national government to resolve housing issues. These institutions were to be ‘aiding the population concerning their housing, employment, professional, and other problems with a view toward advancing their interests and wellbeing’ (Karnjanaprakorn and Bunnag 1978, p. 42). With regard to financial assistance, the Housing Welfare Bank (later the Government Housing Bank or GHB) was established under the Ministry of Finance in 1953.

  3. 3.

    The BOI was introduced by the Third National Plan between 1972 and 1976. It allowed fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to draw foreign investors such as exempting corporate income tax by up to eight years and lowering the import duties on machinery and raw materials (Decharuk et al. 2009).

  4. 4.

    The Thai baht maintained its peg at 25 baht per US dollar until the financial crisis started on 2 July 1997. It depreciated to a peak of 54 baht per US dollar in January 1998 (Wang and Tang 2009, p. 167). Its value is approximately 36 baht per US dollar, as of April 2016.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

    Thammarat Marohabutr

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  1. Thammarat Marohabutr
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Correspondence to Thammarat Marohabutr .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA

    Yi-Ling Chen

  2. London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK

    Hyun Bang Shin

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Marohabutr, T. (2019). When Neoliberalization Meets Clientelism: Housing Policies for Low- and Middle-Income Housing in Bangkok. In: Chen, YL., Shin, H. (eds) Neoliberal Urbanism, Contested Cities and Housing in Asia. The Contemporary City. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55015-6_4

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