Emerging-Economy State and International Policy Studies – Serie

This open access book asks why and how some of the developing countries have “emerged” under a set of similar global conditions, what led individual countries to choose the particular paths that led to their “emergence,” and what challenges confront them. If we are to understand the nature of major risks and uncertainties in the world, we must look squarely at the political and economic dynamics of emerging states, such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, and ASEAN countries. Their rapid economic development has changed the distribution of wealth and power in the world. Yet many of them have middle income status. To global governance issues, they tend to adopt approaches that differ from those of advanced industrialized democracies. At home, rapid economic growth and social changes put pressure on their institutions to change. This volume traces the historical trajectories of two major emerging states, China and India, and two city states, Hong Kong and Singapore. It also analyzes cross-country data to find the general patterns of economic development and sociopolitical change in relation to globalization and to the middle income trap.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC-ND license. This volume analyzes the economic, social, and political challenges that emerging states confront today.

This open access book modifies and revitalizes the concept of the ‘developmental state’ to understand the politics of emerging economy through nuanced analysis on the roles of human agency in the context of structural transformation.

It offers historical and contemporary case studies of transition, as well as the international background under which such a transition was successfully made (or delayed), by combining the approaches of economic history and development economics.

Volume 4, Emerging States at Crossroads, analyzes the economic, social, and political challenges that emerging states confronts, including middle-income trap, social disparity, and pressure for political opening.

This volume explores the governing mechanism employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the light of state capacity building.

This volume explores the governing mechanism employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the light of state capacity building.

This Open Access book explores the multifaceted nature of agricultural and rural development in Asia and examines the extent to which the Asian experience is being replicated in contemporary Africa.

This Open Access book explores the multifaceted nature of agricultural and rural development in Asia and examines the extent to which the Asian experience is being replicated in contemporary Africa.

This open access book brings together narratives of inbound and outbound expatriate entrepreneurship in Japan to provide a comprehensive overview of international entrepreneurship in the region.

This open access book brings together narratives of inbound and outbound expatriate entrepreneurship in Japan to provide a comprehensive overview of international entrepreneurship in the region.

This book offers a compelling analysis of Malaysia’s path to sustained economic growth and social stability, illuminating how the country navigated the complex challenges of industrialization, ethnic diversity, and inequality. Spanning six decades of development from the 1960s to the 2020s, the book integrates rigorous economic analysis with nuanced political insights to present a comprehensive account of Malaysia’s transformation.Through detailed examination of industrial upgrading, productivity growth, and policy implementation, the book reveals how Malaysia balanced rural development with urbanization and economic expansion with ethnic harmony. Unlike many developing nations that prioritized industrialization at the expense of rural sectors, Malaysia pursued a dual-track strategy—supporting both agriculture and industry while managing labor transitions across sectors.Central to this success was Malaysia’s competitive authoritarian political system, which enabled decisive policy shifts at critical junctures. The book explores how this governance model facilitated the country’s transition from a primary commodity exporter to a diversified industrial economy, while actively addressing ethnic economic disparities. Essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in development economics, political economy, and Asian studies, this work provides unique insights into the policy choices and institutional dynamics that shaped Malaysia’s development trajectory. It offers valuable lessons for other multi-ethnic middle-income countries seeking sustainable growth.

This open access book studies how foreign models of economic development can be effectively learned by and applied to today’s latecomer countries. Policy capacity and societal learning are increasingly stressed as pre-conditions for successful catch-up. However, how such learning should be initiated by individual societies with different features needs to be explained. The book answers this pragmatic question from the perspective of Japan’s past experience and its extensive development cooperation in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Since the late nineteenth century, Japan has developed a unique philosophy and method for adopting advanced technologies and systems from the West; the same philosophy and method govern its current cooperation with the developing world.The key concepts are local learning and translative adaptation. Local learning says that development requires the learner to adopt a proactive mindset and the goal of graduating from receiving aid. Meanwhile, translative adaptation requires foreign models be modified to fit local realities given the different structures of the home and foreign society. The development process must be wholly owned by the domestic society in rejection of copy-and-paste acceptance. These ideas not only informed Japan but are key to successful development for all. The book also asks how this learning method should—or should not—be revised in the age of SDGs and digitalization. Following the overview section that lays out the general principles, the book offers many real cases from Japan and other countries. The concrete actions outlined in these cases, with close attention to individual growth “ingredients” as opposed to general theories, are crucial to successful policy making. The book contains materials that are highly useful for national leaders and practitioners within developing countries as well as students of development studies.