Book · 2013 · Economic development
How Asia Works
- mentions
- 9
- people
- 4
- podcasts
- 3
- episodes
- 7
- recommendations
- 2
The second book is how Asia works because if you want to understand industrial policy or what industrial policy might look like what might replace the sort of libertarian laissez-faire uh we could even say neoliberal policy of recent decades what might replace that how Asia works is sort of the the book that started people thinking about the alternative.
What they say about it
- Analyzing Asian economic success“trying to analyze why Korea, Taiwan and Japan did so well”2
The best things said about it
Joe's two books, How Asia Works and How Africa Works are essential reading.
Tyler Cowen Conversations with Tyler · Feb 2026 The first is How Asia Works, which is extremely well known and has had major impact.
Tyler Cowen Conversations with Tyler · Feb 2026 If I had to offer my very top picks for the year you say it would be Joe Studwell How Asia Works success and failure in the world's most dynamic region.
There's a book, How Asia Works, by this economist Joseph Studwell, where he is trying to analyze why Korea, Taiwan and Japan did so well after World War II.
There's a book by this developmental economic Joseph Studwell called How Asia Works and in it he makes the case that these Asian tigers in the late 20th century they imposed a bunch of tariffs.
Where and when it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
4 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
How Asia Works by Joe Studwell is a prominent economic study that analyzes the developmental trajectories of East Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The book has drawn significant praise and commentary across multiple podcast episodes. Tyler Cowen featured the book on Conversations with Tyler, calling it an essential, well-known text that has made a major impact on the discourse surrounding global development. Jeff Holmes also highlighted it during a retrospective episode, listing it among top picks for the year. Meanwhile, Noah Smith recommended the work on The Ezra Klein Show as a crucial resource for anyone seeking to understand industrial policy and exploring alternatives to the laissez-faire and neoliberal paradigms of recent decades. Dwarkesh Patel discussed the book on several occasions on the Dwarkesh Podcast, noting its detailed accounts of post-World War Two economic strategies. Patel specifically cited Studwell's insights regarding labor abundance, land reform, and how East Asian countries successfully deployed tariffs and utilized reparations to build formidable industrial capacity.
Every mention
Tyler Cowen Before my last question, just to recap, Joe's two books, How Asia Works and How Africa Works are essential… 2
“The first is How Asia Works, which is extremely well known and has had major impact.”
“Before my last question, just to recap, Joe's two books, How Asia Works and How Africa Works are essential reading. His earlier books are interesting as well, on Southeast Asia and finance.”
Noah Smith the second book is how Asia works because if you want to understand industrial policy or what industrial po… 1
“the second book is how Asia works because if you want to understand industrial policy or what industrial policy might look like what might replace the sort of libertarian laissez-faire uh we could even say neoliberal policy of recent decades what might replace that how Asia works is sort of the the book that started people thinking about the alternative”
Dwarkesh Patel There's a book, How Asia Works, by this economist Joseph Studwell, where he is trying to analyze why Korea,… 5
“There's a book, How Asia Works, by this economist Joseph Studwell, where he is trying to analyze why Korea, Taiwan and Japan did so well after World War II. In the case of Korea, he tells a story”
“In How Asia Works, Studwell makes the interesting point that because these countries are so overflowing with labor that it makes sense in these countries to have lots of peasants who can tend to the land instead of having a single landowners with a large tract of land.”
“a line from How Asia Works where they're talking about the reparations that Korea got after World War Two from Japan and how they're using that to build up their industrial capacity and there's a line from one of the line managers in the factory who goes,”
“there's a book by this uh developmental economic uh joseph studwell called how asia works and in it he makes the case that um these uh asian tigers in the late 20th century they they imposed a bunch of tariffs”
“in the book how asia works the author talks about how you know many of these countries created terrorists basically to create internal knowledge”
Jeff Holmes If I had to offer my very top picks for the year you say it would be Joe Studwell how Asia works success an… 1
“If I had to offer my very top picks for the year you say it would be Joe Studwell how Asia works success and failure in the world's most dynamic region”