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