Rice prices and income distribution in Thailand: a non-parametric analysis

Abstract

States that higher prices for rice are likely to bring benefits to rural households at all levels of living. There are, of course, marked regional variations depending on the importance of the rice crop, but there is no systematic pattern whereby higher prices favour the rural rich at the expense of the rural poor. Indeed, it is households in the middle of the income distribution who stand to gain the largest percentage income gains from an increase in the price of rice. -from Author