Inthe1980sand1990smanyintheWestcametobelieveinthemythofanEast-Asianeconomicmiracle.Japanwasgoingtodominate,thenChina.Countrieswerecalledtigersormini-dragons,andwereseenasnotjustdevelopmentprodigies,butasaunifiedbloc,culturallyandeconomicallysimilar,andinexorablyontherise.JoeStudwellhasspenttwodecadesasareporterintheregion,andTheFinancialTimessaidheshouldbenamedchiefmyth-busterforAsianbusiness.InHowAsiaWorks,StudwelldistillshisextensiveresearchintotheeconomiesofninecountriesJapan,SouthKorea,Taiwan,Indonesia,Malaysia,Thailand,thePhilippines,Vietnam,andChinaintoanaccessible,readablenarrativethatdebunksWesternmisconceptions,showswhatreallyhappenedinAsiaandwhy,andforoncemakesclearwhysomecountrieshaveboomedwhileothershavelanguished.Studwell'sin-depthanalysisfocusesonthreemainareas:landpolicy,manufacturing,andfinance.LandreformhasbeenessentialtothesuccessofAsianeconomies,givingakickstarttodevelopmentbyutilizingalargeworkforceandprovidingcapitalforgrowth.Withmanufacturing,industrialdevelopmentaloneisnotsufficient,Studwellargues.Instead,countriesneedexportdiscipline,agovernmentthatforcescompaniestocompeteontheglobalscale.Andinfinance,effectiveregulationisessentialforfostering,andsustaininggrowth.Toexploreallofthesesubjects,Studwelljourneysfarandwide,drawingonfascinatingexamplesfromaPhilippinesugarbaron'sstiflingofreformtotheexplosivegrowthataKoreansteelmill.Thoroughlyresearchedandimpressiveinscope,HowAsiaWorksisessentialreadingforanyoneinterestedinthedevelopmentofthesedynamiccountries,aregionthatwillshapethefutureoftheworld.