The Dawn of the Pacific Century

This book is a bold affirmation of the Asian 'miracle' of development, an explanation of reasons for its success, and a review of its implications. As McCord reminds us, understanding why and how these nations have propelled themselves so far, so fast, is a key to anticipating the destiny of much of the rest of the world. Despite their interest, analysis have been confounded in attempts to explain Asian Development-without resources and colonies, without internal violence, and broadly distributing wealth as they have grown. Existing theories of development offer little guidance. Even explanations that look to the special circumstances of Asian countries have their weaknesses. Reviewing all of these explanations, McCord identifies a common group of socioeconomic values and policies shared by most of these nations. And these, he shows, tell us much. The Dawn of the Pacific Century convincingly makes the case for a genuinely Asian model of development-one that must be understood on its own terms. It should find a broad professional social science readership. In addition, those general readers who wish to learn from and understand the Asian challenge will find this book a good beginning.