First Published in 2004. This volume showcases the latest research by a team of international scholars into the economic development of the Asia Pacific region. A geographically and historically diverse range of case studies cover the spectrum of Asian economic activity, from finance to trade and industry, exploring the central theme of the role of the market in intra-Asian economic activity and Asian-Pacific development. Asia Pacific Dynamism 1550–2000 builds on recent breakthroughs in the statistical analysis of Asian economic history, and opens up important new areas for research. Key topics covered include: • a unique standard-of-living comparison, covering the Asian region before 1940 • the role of education in Asian development • technology transfer and economic development • new perspectives on industrialization in Korea and Hong Kong. This book is of fundamental importance to economic historians with a particular interest in the Asia Pacific. It also offers a wealth of original source material, and innovative methodologies, that will be of interest to any economist or historian.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The authors consider how the Asia-Pacific economies have developed since the financial crises and highlight two inter-related themes: the effect of global forces on the national Asian economies and the different development paths of these economies as they jointly enter this new phase. Questions raised by the book include: * is globalization a threat to development and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific or did globalization rather facilitate and accelerate the pace of industrialization among late industrializers in the region? * is there a single Asia-Pacific development model or did the crisis show this to be false? * did the financial crisis reveal structural weaknesses in an Asia-Pacific state-led model or was state leadership already in demise? Development and Structural Change in Asia-Pacific provides a useful and relevant account of how the global economy has led to structural changes within Asian economies

This book is the fifth volume of essays edited by A. J. H Latham and Heita Kawakatsu from the International Economic History Congresses looking at the development of the Asian Economy. Bringing together leading scholars from both the east and west, this book offers fascinating insights into the cotton trade, the rice, wheat and shipping industries and the development of trade and finance in East Asia.

Asia has undergone rapid economic transformation over the past two decades. Despite its constant economic growth, the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and the resulting surge in unemployment highlighted the vulnerability of national systems that base development solely on economic growth. This book fills a major research gap by exploring the nature, dynamics and functioning of Asian labour markets in eight major Asian economies, including Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Vietnam, India and Malaysia. It examines the type of labour markets that exist in Asia; how they have responded to globalisation; and how flexible they are to changing social and economic conditions. The book analyses how the current transformation has impacted on the key parties, such as employers, employees, trade unions, governments, organisations and society as a whole, and considers the likely future trends and developments in Asian labour markets.

Asia as we know it today is the product of a wide range of polity expansions over time. Recognising the territorial expansions of Asian polities large and small through the last several millennia helps rectify the fallacy, long-held and deeply entrenched, that Asian polities have been interested only in the control of populations, not in expanding their command of territory. In countering this misapprehension, this book suggests that Asian polities have indeed been concerned with territorial control and expansion over time, whether for political or strategic advantage, trade purposes, defence needs, agricultural expansion or increased income through taxation. The book explores the historical experiences of a set of polity expansions within Asia, specifically in East and Southeast Asia, and, by examining the motivations, mechanisms, processes, validations and limitations of these Asian territorial expansions, reveals the diverse avenues by which Asian polities have grown. The chapters draw on these historical examples to highlight the connections between Asian polity expansion and centralised political structures, and this aids in a broader and more comprehensive understanding of Asian political practice, both past and present. Through these chapter studies and the integrative introduction, the book interrogates key concepts such as imperialism and colonialism, and the applicability and relevance of such terminology in Asian contexts, both historical and contemporary. Comparisons and contrasts with European historical expansions are also suggested. This book will be welcomed by students and scholars of Asian history, as well as by those with an interest in Asian interactions, international relations, polity expansion, Asia--Europe historical comparisons and globalisation.

Why modern states and economies developed in Europe first, and later in India and China.