In the 1980s and 1990s many in the West found have confidence in the misconception of an East-Asian economic miracle, with countries seen as not only development prodigies but like a unified bloc, culturally and economically similar, and inexorably on the rise. In How Asia Functions, Joe Studwell distills extensive research into the economics of nine countries-Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China-into an accessible narrative that debunks Traditional western misconceptions, shows what really occurred in Asia and just why, as well as for once makes very clear why some countries possess boomed while some have languished.

Amazing in scope, How Asia Works is vital listening for anyone interested in a region that will shape the future of the world.