About Staff

My work so far is focused on the issues of urban development and informal economy in developing countries - mainly Thailand - from the perspective of Urban Economics and Development Economics. Incorporating the perspective of area studies in my work, I have been conducting empirical studies and urban analysis, in the context of globalization, at both the macro and micro levels.

Macro analysis includes empirical analysis on the urban economy and space, as well as policy analysis. On the micro level, long-term field surveys have been conducted in communities to investigate how macro restructuring of urban areas affects low-income residents of the city, their occupations, and their habitation, and how they respond to these changes. It became clear that low-income groups are closely connected to the dynamism of the urban economy. At the same time, disparities within the urban lower class are widening. Some people manage their risks better than others under certain conditions. The risk management process (in case of fire, lay-off, illness, etc.) and the factors which affect these processes are also investigated, such as individual conditions, household conditions, and the function of community.