IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v114y2013i3p1049-1072.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cultures of Aspiration and Poverty? Aspirational Inequalities in Northeast and Southern Thailand

Author

Listed:
  • Laura Camfield
  • Awae Masae
  • J. McGregor
  • Buapun Promphaking

Abstract

The paper provides micro-level evidence of rising inequality in Thailand, using data from an intensive study of seven communities in Northeast and Southern Thailand. This inequality affects participants’ material and subjective wellbeing, their aspirations, and the extent to which they feel these are realised. The paper argues that adaptation, expressed as reduced aspirations, could explain why the effect of material poverty on people’s satisfaction with their lives is small. The reduction in attainment of aspirations linked to socio-economic status suggests that a small, but constant group of people are being excluded from a shift in the societal consensus over what constitutes a good life. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Camfield & Awae Masae & J. McGregor & Buapun Promphaking, 2013. "Cultures of Aspiration and Poverty? Aspirational Inequalities in Northeast and Southern Thailand," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 1049-1072, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:114:y:2013:i:3:p:1049-1072
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-012-0189-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11205-012-0189-3
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-012-0189-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fafchamps, Marcel & Shilpi, Forhad, 2008. "Subjective welfare, isolation, and relative consumption," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 43-60, April.
    2. Bernard, Tanguy & Dercon, Stefan & Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum, 2011. "Beyond fatalism: An empirical exploration of self-efficacy and aspirations failure in Ethiopia," IFPRI discussion papers 1101, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Hirschman, Albert O., 1973. "The changing tolerance for income inequality in the course of economic development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 1(12), pages 29-36, December.
    4. Alesina, Alberto & Di Tella, Rafael & MacCulloch, Robert, 2004. "Inequality and happiness: are Europeans and Americans different?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 2009-2042, August.
    5. Patricio S. Dalton & Sayantan Ghosal & Anandi Mani, 2016. "Poverty and Aspirations Failure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(590), pages 165-188, February.
    6. J. Allister McGregor & Andrew McKay & Jackeline Velazco, 2007. "Needs and resources in the investigation of well-being in developing countries: illustrative evidence from Bangladesh and Peru," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 107-131.
    7. Masud Ahmed, Syed & Chowdhury, Mushtaque & Bhuiya, Abbas, 2001. "Micro-Credit and Emotional Well-Being: Experience of Poor Rural Women from Matlab, Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(11), pages 1957-1966, November.
    8. Robert Biswas-Diener & Ed Diener, 2006. "The Subjective Well-Being of the Homeless, and Lessons for Happiness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 76(2), pages 185-205, April.
    9. Rik Linssen & Luuk Kempen & Gerbert Kraaykamp, 2011. "Subjective Well-being in Rural India: The Curse of Conspicuous Consumption," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 57-72, March.
    10. C. Graham & S. Pettinato, 2002. "Frustrated Achievers: Winners, Losers and Subjective Well-Being in New Market Economies," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(4), pages 100-140.
    11. Luuk Kempen, 2009. "The ‘Downside’ of Women Empowerment in India: An Experimental Inquiry into the Role of Expectations," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 465-482, December.
    12. Guillen-Royo, Monica, 2011. "Reference group consumption and the subjective wellbeing of the poor in Peru," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 259-272, March.
    13. David A. Clark, 2002. "Visions of Development," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2711.
    14. repec:bla:devpol:v:28:y:2010:i:5:p:617-633 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Javier Herrera & Mireille Razafindrakoto & François Roubaud, 2006. "The determinants of subjective poverty: A comparative analysis between Madagascar and Peru," Working Papers DT/2006/01, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    16. David A. Clark, 2007. "Adaptation, Poverty and Well-Being: Some Issues and Observations with Special Reference to the Capability Approach and Development Studies," Economics Series Working Papers GPRG-WPS-081, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    17. Macours, Karen & Vakis, Renos, 2009. "Changing households'investments and aspirations through social interactions : evidence from a randomized transfer program," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5137, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nicola Banks, 2015. "Understanding youth: towards a psychology of youth poverty and development in sub-Saharan African cities," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 21615, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr. & Nshakira-Rukundo, Emmanuel, 2021. "Religiosity and parental educational aspirations for children in Kenya," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Asadullah, Mohammad Niaz & Chaudhury, Nazmul, 2012. "Subjective well-being and relative poverty in rural Bangladesh," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 940-950.
    2. Marcus Böhme, 2015. "Migration and educational aspirations – Another channel of brain gain?," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-24, December.
    3. Laura Camfield & Monica Guillen-Royo & Jackeline Velazco, 2010. "Does Needs Satisfaction Matter for Psychological and Subjective Wellbeing in Developing Countries: A Mixed-Methods Illustration from Bangladesh and Thailand," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 497-516, August.
    4. Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew, 2016. "Social Interactions and Aspirations Formation in Rural Ethiopia," Discussion Papers 250150, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    5. Janzen, Sarah A. & Magnan, Nicholas & Sharma, Sudhindra & Thompson, William M., 2017. "Aspirations failure and formation in rural Nepal," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1-25.
    6. Guillen-Royo, Monica, 2011. "Reference group consumption and the subjective wellbeing of the poor in Peru," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 259-272, March.
    7. Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr. & Heckelei, Thomas & Baylis, Kathy & Rasch, Sebastian, 2023. "Cooperative membership and exposure to role models: Implications for income and asset aspirations," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    8. Luuk Kempen, 2009. "The ‘Downside’ of Women Empowerment in India: An Experimental Inquiry into the Role of Expectations," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 465-482, December.
    9. Van Landeghem, Bert & Vandeplas, Anneleen, 2018. "The relationship between status and happiness: Evidence from the caste system in rural India," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 62-71.
    10. Pieter Serneels & Stefan Dercon, 2021. "Aspirations, Poverty, and Education. Evidence from India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(1), pages 163-183, January.
    11. Bernard, Tanguy & Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum, 2012. "Measuring aspirations: Discussion and example from Ethiopia:," ESSP working papers 47, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Maria Ana Lugo & Esfandiar Maasoumi, 2008. "Multidimensional Poverty Measures from an Information Theory Perspective," Working Papers 85, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    13. Kaizhi Yu & Yun Zhang & Hong Zou & Chenchen Wang, 2019. "Absolute Income, Income Inequality and the Subjective Well-Being of Migrant Workers in China: Toward an Understanding of the Relationship and Its Psychological Mechanisms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-27, July.
    14. Irena Grosfeld & Claudia Senik, 2008. "The Emerging Aversion to Inequality: Evidence from Poland 1992-2005," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp919, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    15. Irena Grosfeld & Claudia Senik, 2010. "The emerging aversion to inequality," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 18(1), pages 1-26, January.
    16. Mekonnen, Daniel & Gerber, Nicolas, 2015. "The Effect of Aspirations on Agricultural Innovations in Rural Ethiopia," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211680, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Seemanti Ghosh, 2020. "Can enhancing consciousness of control ideology mitigate the impact of poverty on perseverance?," Working Papers 2020_22, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    18. Martini, Christina & Ibañez Diaz, Marcela & Khadjavi, Menusch, 2021. "Community Aspirations and Collective Action," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 309651, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    19. Monica Guillen-Royo, 2008. "Consumption and Subjective Wellbeing: Exploring Basic Needs, Social Comparison, Social Integration and Hedonism in Peru," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 535-555, December.
    20. Knight, John & Gunatilaka, Ramani, 2022. "Income inequality and happiness: Which inequalities matter in China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:114:y:2013:i:3:p:1049-1072. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.