How Asia Works: Success and Failure in the World's Most Dynamic Region
Why have some East Asian countries been more successful in their economic development than others? Studwell (Asian Godfathers, 2008) argues that the answer comes down to three key sets of policy choices: land-tenure policies that support smallholder farmers, manufacturing policies that subsidize domestic industries yet demand internationally competitive results, and financial policies that support the above by resisting deregulation until it can be done safely. Countries that have done these things (Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan), he notes, have developed more robustly and consistently than those that have not (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia). And then there’s China, the big work in progress at the center of it all. Drawing upon broad yet consistently engaging historical analysis, as well as some deep dives into World Bank and International Monetary Fund reports, Studwell ultimately wants to dispel some pervasive illusions about the region—that geography is destiny, for example—and to suggest that developing countries would do well to ignore much of the economic-development advice they currently receive from the West. --Brendan Driscoll