Review of Akira Suehiro, 'Catch-Up Industrialization: The Trajectory and Prospects of East Asian Economies', NUS Press, 2008, ISBN 978-4-87698-741-2 Paperback US $30

Abstract

First published in 2000 under the title 'Kyatchi-appa gata Kōgyōka-ron: Ajia Keizai no Kiseki to Tenbō', this book by distinguished Japanese economist Akira Suehiro offers a timely analysis of industrialization in East Asia (a term that also includes the economies of Southeast Asia). This revised English language edition is especially welcome as it offers non-Japanese speakers access to the work of a scholar who has long been making significant contributions to debates on East Asian development issues. Professor Suehiro sets himself the ambitious task of developing a theory of East Asian economic transformation based upon a critical examination of 'catch-up industrialization'. In pursuing this objective, he critically engages with debates concerned with the nature of relations between governments and markets in East Asia, the role of state enterprises, state-society relations, and the contributions of ideology and Asian values. The book contains 13 chapters organized into two broad sections.