留まる者の論理

─東北タイ農村部低収入世帯の意欲と資源─

抄録

　　　This study aims to examine one simple question: why do some low-income houeholds in a Northeast Thai village keep staying on in the village despite the fact that they could earn much higher income if they just work in urban areas. For the stated purpose, the study, based on first-hand observations from 9 years of intensive fieldworks in the rural area in Northeast Thailand, provides a detailed description of the villagers’ resources that allow them to sustain their living and autonomy and also their motivations to stay on in the village. The decision to stay on in the village and forgo the option to move out in the pursuit of higher income, may seem irrational from the eyes of economists. However, the author, by borrowing “capability approach” argument by A. Sen, argues that their behaviors could be understood as efforts of pursuing “lives worth living”, not profit maximization. Their “efforts” include forming community groups and practicing “sustainable agriculture” such as “organic agriculture” and “integrated agriculture”. These activities suit well with their natural environments and economic conditions and at the same time give them “issara” freedom/autonomy in the village.