Page 76 - A Life Well-Lived Is a Beautiful Memory

policy, published in 1996 by Oxford University Press and the World Bank. Bhanupong made a
huge contribution to it. Exchange rate policy was a key component of the analysis. The book laid

the foundation for the understanding of Thailand’s potential vulnerability to an economic crisis,
especially through its policy at the time of a fixed exchange rate. The subsequent Asian Financial
Crisis of 1997 to 1999 showed how important that early analysis was and how damaging unwise
economic policy could be.

In the course of our work together I developed a deep respect for Bhanupong as a scholar
and as an individual. Over more than three decades of friendship, I cannot recall an occasion
on which we disagreed. The main reason for that was that when it came to Thailand, he was the
teacher and I was the student. Whenever I visited Thailand I made sure that I met Bhanupong

and consulted his views on current Thai and international economic policy issues. His views
were always well-considered and never just a repetition of whatever was fashionable at the time.
He was an independent thinker. Bhanupong’s understanding of economics was always quietly
expressed and never dogmatic but it commanded respect because it was always based on evidence

and careful thought. I kept in regular touch with his ongoing research, including his well-received
2018 Routledge book, Macroeconomic Policy for Emerging Markets: Lessons from Thailand. A
secret is that I reviewed that book for Routledge and strongly recommended that they publish it.
It did not surprise me at all but pleased me greatly when Thammasat University appointed him

as a full professor, a rare but richly deserved honour.
Bhanupong Nidhiprabha was a man of integrity. He was my concept of what a professor
could and should be. Such a loss for all of us. RIP dear Bhanupong.

After receiving his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1974, Peter was a Postdoctoral Fellow in
International Trade and Economic Development at the University of Minnesota. Later, he taught
economics at Monash University from 1976 to 1979, before joining the Economics Department,
RSPAS, Australian National University, in 1980. He has held the John Crawford Chair at the
ANU since 1989 and was Head of the Department for several years. His current research includes
general equilibrium analysis of the Indonesian and Thai economies, especially as regards the
relationship between economic policy and poverty incidence.

76 A Life Well-Lived Is a Beautiful Memory