Dr. Watcharas Leelawath

Job Title

Name of Organization

Primary Email

Honorary Advisor

Bolliger & Company (Thailand)

[email protected]

Brief Biography

Dr. Watcharas Leelawath is a former Executive Director of Mekong Institute (MI), where he served for six years. He has just completed his second term in August 2020.

Prior to joining MI, he was the Deputy Executive Director of the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD) in charge of planning, supervising and conducting research projects, training programs and various capacity building activities. Before coming back to Thailand, he worked as Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Minnesota, Morris, USA where he taught International Economics and Mathematics for Economists.

Dr. Leelawath earned his undergraduate degree from Chulalongkorn University. He finished his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Kansas, USA.

Field of Interests

He is a trade economist with a strong interest in trade and development cooperation issues under GMS and ASEAN frameworks. He has extensive research experience in the fields of International Labor Migration, Regional Economic Integration. He has written several papers for presentation in local and international conferences, has published several articles on trade-related topics and has co-authored a book entitled “Economics and Trade in Goods: An Introduction.” He provided his expertise in a number of capacity building activities organized by ITD, ITC, ADB, UNESCAP, WTO and Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA).

Fields of Expertise

Current Research Projects

- Thailand's Opportunities and challenges for ASEAN-Canada FTA
- Cross-border e-commerce
- Assessment of Thailand's investment incentives

Key Publications

Evenett, S., Leelawath, W. and Suntavaruk, S. (2009), Economic and Trade in Goods: An Introduction. Manila: Asian Development Bank.

Panuspattana, O., Nanakorn, P., Leelawath, W. and Srihong, T. (2009), “Law and policies related to electronic commerce in New Zealand,” Chulalongkorn Law Journal, 27(2), 83-118.

Leelawath, W. (2006), “The effects of the free trade arrangement on social welfare and urban employment,” in G. Meijer et.al., eds. Heterodox views on Economics and the Economy of the Global Society, Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 329-342.

Leelawath, W. and Suntavarak, S. (2005), “Human Development Impacts of Regional and Bilateral FTAs: A case study of Thailand,” Journal of Law and Economics in International Trade, 2(1), 154-185.

Leelawath, W. (2004), “The role of FDI on education and the return probability of foreign-educated individuals”, Journal of Law and Economics in International Trade, 1(2), 202-223.

Leelawath, W. (2000), “Essays on International Labor Migration and Skill Acquisitions,” Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Kansas.