＊We are proceeding to put the books in order, and are preparing the release.
Akira SUEHIRO (末廣昭1951- ) is a prominent scholar of Asian economics and a professor at the Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo.
The collection contains an estimated 2200 Thai books and 300 books in Western languages focusing on the economy, management and commerce of Thailand. Because SUEHIRO specialized in the study of the Thai economy since working as a researcher at the Institute of Developing Economies, the collection includes books and journals concerning the Thai economy, statistical data, copies of master’s theses written by Thai graduate students, and documents on Thai Chinese managers.
The holdings of journals concerning economic and management issues number 400 journals in total, which also contains the three important journals listed below.
(1) Phu Catkan (Managers): A prominent Thai journal discussing economic and management matters. Holdings extend from the first issue (1983) to issue no. 302 (2008).
(2) The trade journal Kangoen Thanakhan (Money and Banking). Holdings extend from issue no. 219 (2000) to no. 368 (2012).
(3) Hua Shang (Chinese trade): A journal dedicated to discussing Thai Chinese managers.
Another remarkable component of the collection is formed by the more than 250 cremation volumes (Nangsu Chaek) as well as books and booklets outlining a deceased person’s life and social contributions that are distributed at funerals. The cremation volume has its roots in decrees and documents compiled in case a member of the royal family or the aristocracy pass away. They were subsequently adopted by and spread among government officials and Chinese traders. Such volumes contain the biography of the deceased, writings in memory of the deceased as well as information concerning particular themes (such as one’s professional accomplishments). They furthermore frequently contain classical writings and gazetteers. Due to their nature as collections of historical and legal information, they are essential sources for economic and social historiographies.
Furthermore, the collection includes around 70 masters’ thesis submitted at Thai national universities such as Chulalongkorn University. The theses have been selected for inclusion in the collection due to their subject matters, investigating the Thai economy, commerce, and history. The collection also includes around 100 issues of the bulletin published by Thammasat University’s Faculty of Economics. The statistical an historical data contained in the collection are not only useful for the study of the Thai economy and Thai area studies, but can benefit a wide range of fields.
