How Asia Works

May 20, 2013
Americans often imagine that an “economic miracle” is taking place across all of Asia, a region of vast internal differences and contradictions. The truth is more complex and tentative. In his latest book, journalist Studwell (The China Dream), founder of the China Economic Quarterly, surveys nine nations: China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. At a time when ideas of “geographic pre-destination” and “‘nothing-can-be-done’” developmental thinking abound, Studwell reports on the striking differences between these nations. Taiwan, for one, “gives us a powerful reminder that geography is not destiny in development.” The book first reviews land policies, then considers basic manufacturing, including autos, cement, fertilizer, steel, and textiles. Studwell writes gripping country-by-country profiles of companies that together provide ample evidence of the brutality with which economic development is conducted. Dwelling on Hyundai, Studwell admires the “extraordinary success of Korea’s manufacturing development policy” and the prospects for trade there. He concludes with a lucid review of China’s confusing economic policies, arguing that the country remains mired in government inefficiencies and slow institutional development. Readers will find Studwell’s informative and balanced report eye-opening. Agent: Claire Alexander, Aiken Alexander Associates Ltd.

June 1, 2013
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 regionthat geography is destiny, for exampleand to suggest that developing countries would do well to ignore much of the economic-development advice they currently receive from the West.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)