Professor Hsu provides a valuable introduction for students to the recent economic history of the three Asian giants: China, India, and Japan, along with an informative discussion of the economic challenges they confront as they jointly contribute to what is likely to become known as the Asian century.'
- Nicholas C. Hope, Stanford Center for International Development and SCID China Program, USEconomic Reform in Asia compares and analyzes the reform and development patterns of China, India, and Japan from both historical and developmental perspectives. Sara Hsu specifically focuses on China's reform and opening-up in 1979, India's accelerated liberalization in 1991, and the outset of the Meiji Restoration in Japan in 1878. This detailed overview of growth patterns in Asia's largest economies is invaluable, especially in its determination to understand which development policies work, what role institutions play in development, and what issues may arise during said development.

The book first provides an overview of the countries' development trajectories and introduces the theoretical constructs associated with them. The text focuses on key aspects of development for comparison, such as poverty and inequality, rural to urban migration, human capital, and the impact of development on the environment, trade, and economic future of these three countries. The relative success of reforms and their political and economic effects are also discussed.

This comprehensive book will be of interest to students, as it provides an impressive overview of three Asian countries' development, as well as for scholars in the field who are looking for a thoughtful and complex discussion of reform from different perspectives.