Dr. Choy Keen Meng and Professor Ichiro Sugimoto of the Faculty of International Liberal Arts Publish The Economic History of Singapore with NUS Press

Dr. Choy Keen Meng, a Singaporean researcher, and Professor Ichiro Sugimoto of the Faculty of International Liberal Arts at Soka University have published the scholarly volume The Economic History of Singapore with National University of Singapore Press (NUS Press).

This book provides a comprehensive long-term analysis of Singapore’s economic development. It systematically traces the island’s historical evolution from its role as a regional trading hub in the fourteenth century, through its formation as a colonial port city, to its emergence as a contemporary global center of trade, finance, and innovation. Spanning 485 pages, the volume has been published as a major academic work that integrates empirical analysis and historical narrative at a high level.

The book has also received high praise from Professor Linda Lim of the University of Michigan, one of the leading scholars in Singapore economic studies, who has commended it as a comprehensive and rigorous study that successfully integrates data, economic analysis, and historical narrative.

The fact that this volume has been published by NUS Press, which enjoys an international reputation for excellence in Southeast Asian studies, attests to the scholarly quality and international significance of this research. The book is expected to serve as an important reference not only for specialists in the field but also for the broader international academic community. Written in an accessible style, it should also appeal to students and general readers.

One of the most notable features of this volume is that it represents the culmination of many years of international collaborative research. Since first meeting at an international conference held in Singapore in 2007, Professor Sugimoto and Dr. Choy have steadily developed their collaboration through competitive research projects, building on their respective areas of expertise. Despite their binding commitments in research, teaching, and professional duties, they continued to make time for joint work and succeeded in publishing three articles in international economic history journals. The steady accumulation of this collaborative effort laid the foundation for the completion of the present volume. In particular, Dr. Choy’s stints at the Faculty of Economics of Soka University as a visiting professor in 2020 and 2022 provided especially important opportunities to advance the joint research for the book in a significant way.

On the publication of the book, Professor Sugimoto commented as follows: “I am deeply grateful for Dr. Choy’s unwavering good faith and patience in sustaining our joint research over so many years. Our next goals are the publication of a Japanese translation of this book and, beyond that, the writing of another research monograph, The Economic History of British Malaya. Even at the speed of a snail, I hope we can continue to make steady progress.”

Professor

Ichiro Sugimoto

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Specialized Field

Quantitative economic history (historical economic statistical estimation and empirical analysis), Southeast Asian economic history (British colonial period: Singapore, Malaya, Burma)

Research theme

Long-term historical economic statistical estimation and empirical analysis in Southeast Asian countries