Resurgent Asia

Abstract

Resurgent Asia analyses the phenomenal transformation of Asia, which would have been difficult to imagine, let alone predict, fifty years ago, when Gunnar Myrdal published Asian Drama. In doing so, it provides an analytical narrative of this remarkable story of economic development, situated in its wider context of historical, political, and social factors, and an economic analysis of the underlying factors, with a focus on critical issues in the process of, and outcomes in, development. In 1970, Asia was the poorest continent in the world, marginal except for its large population. By 2016, it accounted for three-tenths of world income, two-fifths of world manufacturing, and one-third of world trade, while its income per capita converged towards the world average. However, this transformation was associated with unequal outcomes across countries and between people. The analysis disaggregates Asia into its four constituent sub-regions—East, Southeast, South, and West—and further into fourteen economies—China, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka—which account for more than four-fifths of its population and income. This book enhances our understanding of development processes and outcomes in Asia over the past fifty years, draws out the analytical conclusions that contribute to contemporary debates on development, and highlights some lessons from the Asian experience for countries elsewhere. It is the first to examine the phenomenal changes that are transforming economies in Asia and shifting the balance of economic power in the world, while reflecting on the future prospects in Asia over the next twenty-five years. A rich, engaging, and fascinating read.

Public Financing of Human Development in India: A Review

“…Investment in human capital and physical infrastructure created the base for economic growth of these countries which eventually led to a decline in poverty levels (Ranis, 1995). Therefore, taking cue from the experience of development and transformation of East Asian countries, it will be important for India to promote rapid industrialisation, education, health, and technological innovation (Nayyar, 2019a, 2019b). Nayyar (2019a) argues that industrial policies aiming promotion of growth by export promotion, opening up the economy to trade and investment (both for domestic and foreign investors) and availability of superior human resources and capabilities of the governments helped Asian transformation from poverty to prosperity during the last 50 years.…”

Revisiting Fred W. Riggs’ Model in the Context of ‘Prismatic’ Societies Today

“…In the case of Asia, the debate on government versus market failure is a misconstrued exposition. Growth is achieved when state and markets complement each other (Nayyar, 2019). In fact, different development strategies and economic reforms as they were adopted one by one in Asian countries in the later decades of the 20th century were well coordinated and attempts were made to analyse the factors underlying successes and failures for the future, for example, the right question to pose was: What was in the ecology of some of these developing states that the bureaucracies and political regimes understood that markets and governments complement each other, whereas this balance could not be worked out in other developing countries?…”

“…Again, what was it in the politico-administrative situations and relationships in the countries of South Asia that led to the slow change towards a more market oriented policy framework, more than twenty years after such changes had become the norm in East and South East Asia? And lastly, why was it that even the Chinese Communist Party’s apparently rigid bureaucratic apparatus was much more adaptable to radical economic reforms than the democratic politico-administrative apparatus of India in the last decade of the 20th century (Nayyar, 2019).…”

COVID-19 Pandemic: The Asian Experience

“…The disruption time is largely a function of the time taken to control the disease. Asian countries, an engine of the growth of the global economy (Nayyar, 2019), have managed this crisis somewhat innovatively and without much human loss.…”