Innovation and Structural Transformation in Asia

This book explores recent drivers of Asia’s growth and economic development. The analysis is based on a database created by the authors. It covers a large number of economies, including 39 from Asia for the period 1990–2020.

The database and the analysis in the book use novel indicators of development. It is structured along four areas: productivity and structural change, global value chains (GVCs), economic complexity, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The book offers insights into current economic performance and future prospects. It shows great heterogeneity across the region, highlighting a range of development experiences. Each chapter contains an accessible methodological section of the concepts used, explaining the construction of indicators and how they should be interpreted.

The book will interest scholars of Asian economics, structural transformation, productivity, GVCs, complexity, and 4IR studies. The publicly available database will also appeal to policymakers and researchers interested in data analysis.