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How Asia Works by Joe Studwell
Ascender Team - 18th May 2020
The book vividly presents the economic development success stories of major North-East Asian economies, particularly Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
Studwell traces the policies that were put in place to finance the emergence of vibrant manufacturing sectors, particularly stressing the importance of timely land ownership reform, which drove agricultural productivity and profits that were directed toward high-growth manufacturing activities. The book emphasizes the critical decision on the part of governments to oblige national manufacturing companies to export, thereby forcing them to invest in technologies that would enable them to compete internationally. Furthermore, these countries insisted that their finance sectors be put to the service of their national industrial objectives, creating an ideal ecosystem for their manufacturing sectors to bloom.
The author puts in perspective the difficulties encountered by the majority of South-East Asian economies, which failed to foster the emergence of internationally competitive leaders.
This is a must-read for whomever wants to gain a richer understanding of the drivers behind the economic successes and failures of major economies in Asia with a firm grasp of this region’s vast idiosyncrasies.
