Saving Asia from stalling growth

Asia might not reach its full growth potential, argue the authors of The Connections World, thanks to the nexus between the state and selected private business enterprises in the continent

The Connections World: The future of Asian Capitalism

Author: Simon Commander & Saul Estrin

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Pages: 253

Price: £74.99

The “Asia” that this book addresses spreads northwards across the Pacific Ocean from Indonesia till the borders of China, North Korea and Japan and Eastwards to Pakistan on the Indian Ocean, comprising Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, and South Asia. That this Asia is different from Europe and North America is a truism.

The authors share a dark perception of why Asia might not reach its full growth potential. They applaud the increasing levels of economic growth across Asia — now higher than the growth