Pasuk Phongpaichit is a Thai economist. A professor at Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and is the country's highest ranked university. It now has nineteen faculties and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university in Thailand, it consistently attracts top students from around the country...

, she is the author of several books on corruption in Thailand.

Dr Pasuk graduated from Monash University

Monash University

Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, and received her PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 at Cambridge University in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Her books include A History of Thailand, Thaksin: The Business of Politics in Thailand, and Thailand's Crisis (with Chris Baker

Chris Baker (writer)

Christopher John Baker is a Thailand-based British writer who has made his home in Bangkok for more than 20 years. He is the co-author of A History of Thailand, Thaksin: The Business of Politics in Thailand, Thailand's Boom and Bust, and Thailand's Crisis, all written with Dr Pasuk Phongpaichit...

), and Guns, Girls, Gambling, Ganja (with Sungsidh Piriyarangsan and Nualnoi Treerat).

A critic of former Premier

Prime Minister of Thailand

The Prime Minister of Thailand is the head of government of Thailand. The Prime Minister is also the chairman of the Cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed since the Revolution of 1932, when the country became a constitutional monarchy....

 Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....

, she was appointed an advisor to the military junta that overthrew his government, but turned down the position.