The Rural to Urban Transition: The Case of Thailand

Next month, I will spend a fair bit of time in Singapore.  This will bring me pretty close to Thailand so this article caught my eye.  Young Thai people are revealing a taste for moving off of the farm and moving to the big air conditioned city.  This isn't shocking.  This is an example of how cities shield us from climate risk.  Farmers face more output volatility due to climate shocks and farming is hard work spent outside.  In contrast, urbanites work inside and spend more time inside and can choose when they want to be outside.  If more people urbanize, who will grow the food?  In a world of international trade, some folks in some geographical locations will specialize in food production but the general urbanization trend helps to shield more and more people from climate shocks.    This is free market adaptation to climate change.