# The Effect of Rainfall on Economic Growth in Thailand: A Blessing for Poor Provinces
## 1 Introduction  
Policymakers are becoming increasingly concerned about the economic effects of climate change ([PERSON] et al., 2011). There is now study agreement among scientists that anthropogenic emissions are already underway due to the burning of fossil fuels and releasing of carbon dioxide as well as other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007b). The idea that the climate may have substantial economic impacts is not a new concept with such ideas being found in the writing of the ancient Greeks and in [PERSON]'s 14 th-century Muqaddimah ([PERSON], 1967). For centuries, thinkers have considered whether and how climatic conditions; such as, temperature, rainfall, and violent storms influence the nature of societies and economic performance ([PERSON] and [PERSON], 2016). This is consistent with [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2018) who proposed that economic sectors are driven by the phenomenon of climate change resulting in the rediscovery that climate conditions are potential determinants of economic activity. Moreover, temperature and rainfall are two climatic variables typically represented in economic growth models, but there is greater focus on temperature. The existing literature has also suggested that temperature increases negatively affected economic growth ([PERSON], 2012; [PERSON] et al., 2012; [PERSON], 2014; [PERSON] et al., 2018), whereasrainfall could have both positive ([PERSON] et al., 2013; [PERSON] and [PERSON], 2015) and negative effects on gross domestic product (GDP) growth ([PERSON] et al., 2012; [PERSON] and [PERSON], 2016). The impact of climate and the role of water security on economic growth are subjects of increased interest ([PERSON] et al., 2013). Evidence suggests that climate change affects precipitation patterns ([PERSON], 2005) with climate change, therefore potentially affecting economic growth through rainfall variability ([PERSON], 2012). Nonetheless, few studies have examined and explored the connection between rainfall and economic growth with most of the existing research having been conducted in African countries ([PERSON], 2012; [PERSON] et al., 2010; [PERSON] and [PERSON], 2018; [PERSON], 2014; [PERSON], 2010; [PERSON] and [PERSON], 2011; [PERSON], 2007); such as in Sub-Saharan Africa where rainfed agriculture is dominant ([PERSON] et al., 2018). Thailand has a service-based economy and is an upper-middle-income country (World Bank, 2011). However, the majority of existing studies have investigated the economic impact of rainfall on poor, agricultural-based economies ([PERSON] and [PERSON], 2006; [PERSON] et al., 2018), which differ greatly from Thailand. Moreover, several researchers have investigated African countries facing arid and semi-arid conditions characterised by erratic and seasonally low rainfall of less than 700 mm per year ([PERSON], 2015). In contrast, Thailand is situated in the tropics with an annual rainfall of approximately 1400 mm ([PERSON], 2007). Thus, the current study differed from the existing literature concerning the country's income level, economic characteristics, and volume of rainfall. Our main assumption was that rainfall may influence the Thai economy differently compared to agriculture-based economies that have been previously explored in depth in the available literature. Despite the literature's focus on the effects of rainfall on poor countries dependent on the agricultural sector, rainfall can also affect other sectors. According to [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2013), extreme rainfall and drought influenced the profitability and popularity of the tourism sector in New Zealand. In addition, countries that are reliant on hydroelectricity or other types of water energy production are heavily dependent on adequate annual rainfall ([PERSON] and [PERSON], 2017).