Singh, SimranFirst-generation biofuels production increased exponentially in the last fifteen years. However, research on the socioeconomic aspects of first-generation biofuels production in countries to which it has expanded to has been limited. According to the literature, food security due to land use tradeoffs between fuel and food crops and unclear inclusion of producers in sustainability governance for fuel crops are central concerns when considering the impact of first-generation biofuel production. Thailand is a key case to study sustainability dynamics of oil palm production due to its focus on biodiesel as a source of renewable energy and similarity to other countries to which oil palm and biodiesel production is expanding. The first part of this dissertation asks if palm oil has affected rice production in Thailand. Using an original province-level data on oil palm and rice production spanning thirty-three years for each Thai province in a multi-level VAR model, the first essay describes contemporaneous, temporal and between-province linkages between oil palm and rice at the country level. Results indicate complex linkages between oil palm and rice, including that oil palm decisions may be indirectly linked to rice plantation decisions from a temporal perspective within a province. The second part of this dissertation examines whether smallholder values have been conscientiously included in fuel-crop sustainability decisions within predominant oil-palm sustainability governance. The literature has recognized that roundtables are the key form of fuel crop governance, and claim legitimacy based on the inclusion of producer stakeholders (farmers) in forming a vision of sustainability. However, evidence suggests that independent smallholders, a particularly vulnerable subset of producers, may not be included despite high-level policies for their inclusion in bodies such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO hereafter). After delineating an original framework for assessing conscientious inclusion based on an original synthesis of the literature on equity, participation, agency and perception, the second part of this research uses 94 field interviews to capture independent smallholder and elite perceptions of independent smallholder inclusion in the RSPO in Thailand. Results presented as themes according to the framework indicate both smallholders and elites perceive that independent smallholders have limited inclusion in envisioning sustainability in the RSPO across various elements of inclusion, compromising the legitimacy of the RSPO sustainability certification.enDissertationPublic policy