Asian Transformations An Inquiry into the Development of Nations

Gunnar Myrdal published his magnum opus, Asian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations, in 1968. He was deeply pessimistic about development prospects in Asia. The fifty years since then have witnessed a remarkable social and economic transformation in Asia - even if it has been uneven across countries and unequal between people - that would have been difficult to imagine, let alone predict at the time. Asian Transformations: An Inquiry into the Development of Nations analyses the fascinating story of economic development in Asia spanning half a century.

Asian Transformations sets the stage by discussing the contribution of Gunnar Myrdal to the debate on development then and now and providing a long-term historical perspective on Asia in the world. It then uses cross-country thematic studies on governments, economic openness, agricultural transformation, industrialization, macroeconomics, poverty and inequality, education and health, employment and unemployment, institutions, and nationalisms to analyse processes of change while recognizing the diversity in paths and outcomes. Specific country studies on China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, and sub-region studies on East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, further highlight turning points in economic performance and demonstrate factors underlying success or failure.

Including in-depth studies by eminent economists and social scientists, Asian Transformations comprehensively examines the phenomenal changes that are transforming economies in Asia and shifting the balance of economic power in the world and reflects on the future prospects for this continent over the next twenty-five years. It is a cohesive and multi-disciplinary study of a rapidly changing economic landscape, and makes an important contribution to understanding the complexities and processes of development from different perspectives.

Deepak Nayyar, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

Deepak Nayyar is Emeritus Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and an Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. He was Distinguished University Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research, New York, and has previously taught at the University of Oxford, the University of Sussex, and the Indian Institute of Management. He served as Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi, and as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India. He has published widely in academic journals. His books include Catch Up: Developing Countries in the World Economy (OUP, 2016).

Part I: Setting the stage
1. Rethinking Asian Drama: fifty years later, Deepak Nayyar
2. Gunnar Myrdal and Asian Drama in context: then, Ravi Kanbur
3. Gunnar Myrdal's methodology and approach revisited: now, Frances Stewart
4. Asia and the world economy in historical perspective, Ron Findlay
Part II: Cross-country thematic studies
5. The state and development, Peter Evans and Patrick Heller
6. Economic openness and development, Richard Kozul-Wright and Daniel Poon
7. Agriculture, the rural sector, and development, Rob Vos
8. Industrialization and development, Ha-Joon Chang and Kiryl Zach
9. Macroeconomic perspective on development, Amit Bhaduri
10. Poverty and inequality, Guanghua Wan and Chen Wang
11. Education and health, Sudipto Mundle
12. Unemployment, employment, and development, Rolph van der Hoeven
13. Institutions and development, Mushtaq H. Khan
14. Nationalism and development, Prasenjit Duara
Part III: Country studies
15. China, Justin Lin Yifu
16. India, Kaushik Basu
17. Indonesia, C. Peter Timmer
18. Vietnam, Finn Tarp
19. East Asia, Robert H. Wade
20. Southeast Asia, Manuel F. Montes
21. South Asia, S.R. Osmani