How do external threats on state sovereignty benefit local development? Christopher Paik of New York University Abu Dhabi and his co-author look at Thailand’s railroad projects in the late-19th and early 20th centuries as an example of a state’s strategic response to colonial encroachment. By transporting government officials and establishing a permanent administrative presence, the railways served to ensure Thailand’s sovereignty over peripheral regions and bring them under direct governance.

In this Quantitative History Webinar, Christopher Paik will explain how these regions, which were long considered economically unviable and disconnected from Bangkok, gained rail access due to their strategic importance and, in turn, witnessed urbanization and increased agricultural production.

Christopher’s co-author: Jessica Vechbanyongratana (Chulalongkorn University)

Discussant: Duol Kim, Professor of Economics, Myongji University (currently Visiting Professor, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences)