How Asia Works audiobook cover - Success and Failure in the World’s Most Dynamic Region

How Asia Works

Success and Failure in the World’s Most Dynamic Region

Joe Studwell

★ 4.1 / 5(66 ratings)
Start ListeningDownload App
Categories:
Economics

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

Listen to How Asia Works — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from How Asia Works

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from How Asia Works

Mind Map

How Asia Works
Phase 1: Agriculture+
Phase 2: Manufacturing+
Phase 3: Finance+
Case Study: China+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
Why do successful Asian states promote small-scale household farming over large-scale mechanized farming in the early stages of development?
  • A. Large-scale farming requires highly educated workers that poor countries lack.
  • B. Household farming maximizes yield per hectare through intensive human labor and creates necessary jobs.
  • C. Small-scale farming produces goods that are easier to trade on the international market.
  • D. Mechanized farming relies on imported fuel, which creates a chronic trade deficit.
Question 2 of 8
What was a primary outcome of the land reforms implemented in Japan and Taiwan after World War II?
  • A. The consolidation of small farms into massive, state-owned agricultural collectives.
  • B. A rapid transition of the workforce from agriculture directly into the service sector.
  • C. A significant reduction in economic inequality and a massive boost in agricultural output.
  • D. The elimination of the agricultural sector to make way for industrial pilot factories.
Question 3 of 8
According to the text, why should developing countries initially use protectionist policies rather than immediately embracing free trade?
  • A. Protectionism forces citizens to buy higher-quality domestic goods rather than cheap foreign imports.
  • B. Free trade requires a highly educated workforce, which developing countries typically do not have.
  • C. Protectionism shelters nascent local industries, allowing them to imitate and improve technologies until they are globally competitive.
  • D. Free trade inevitably leads to premature financial deregulation and stock market speculation.
Question 4 of 8
How did South Korea successfully ensure that its newly developed manufacturing companies became globally competitive?
  • A. By tying access to bank credit directly to a company's export performance and forcing underperformers to merge or close.
  • B. By maintaining a strict state monopoly over all manufacturing to prevent domestic competition.
  • C. By deregulating its financial markets early to attract foreign venture capital to local startups.
  • D. By shifting all government subsidies away from manufacturing and into the service sector.
Question 5 of 8
What was the negative consequence of Malaysia prematurely deregulating its stock exchange in 1989?
  • A. Foreign banks bought out all local financial institutions.
  • B. Capital was diverted into financial speculation rather than being loaned to businesses for technological development.
  • C. The agricultural sector lost all its workers to high-paying jobs in the financial sector.
  • D. The government was forced to nationalize the automotive industry to prevent bankruptcy.
Question 6 of 8
Which policy change by Deng Xiaoping was instrumental in dramatically boosting China's agricultural output?
  • A. Introducing large-scale mechanized farming to replace manual labor.
  • B. Forcing rural populations to migrate to urban centers to work in pilot factories.
  • C. Implementing the 'household responsibility system,' allowing farmers to sell excess production on an unregulated market.
  • D. Banning the import of foreign agricultural technology to promote self-sufficiency.
Question 7 of 8
According to the book, what is a major reason why China's rural-urban income gap remains high despite government stimulus programs?
  • A. The government continues to levy heavy taxes on rural farmers.
  • B. Peasants do not actually own their land, making them reluctant to invest in farm improvements.
  • C. Urban workers receive massive state subsidies that are denied to rural citizens.
  • D. The agricultural sector has been entirely replaced by state-owned manufacturing plants.
Question 8 of 8
Why do China's private automotive manufacturers, like Geely and Chery, struggle to develop their own popular products?
  • A. They are forced to export 100% of their cars and cannot sell to the domestic market.
  • B. The state bans private companies from accessing foreign technology or designs.
  • C. They lack the basic manufacturing infrastructure required to build modern vehicles.
  • D. State-owned companies flood the domestic market with cars developed through foreign joint ventures.

How Asia Works — Full Chapter Overview

How Asia Works Summary & Overview

How Asia Works examines the economic development of nine Asian countries and, in the process, sketches a blueprint for other developing nations seeking to achieve sustainable economic growth. Joe Studwell explains why some Asian economies have boomed while others have fallen behind, revealing what history has proved works – and what doesn’t.

Who Should Listen to How Asia Works?

  • Anyone interested in developing economies and international economics
  • Asian history enthusiasts

About the Author: Joe Studwell

Joe Studwell is a journalist, blogger and public speaker currently doing a mid-career PhD at Cambridge University.

🎧
Listen in the AppOffline playback & background play
Get App