He has conducted research on corporate finance, household finance, and economic development. His current research projects cover topics on household enterprises and household finance in rural Thailand (household occupation diversification; volatility and the smoothing of household income and consumption; risks and returns on household enterprises; and the roles of kinship and economic networks in transmitting shocks across households) as well as financing and behaviors of small and medium enterprises and large family business groups, especially those in Asia. Samphantharak received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago.