Asia’s transformation from its status as the most impoverished region to the growth engine of the global economy in five decades is unprecedented and nothing short of a miracle. The feat seems all the more profound when it is juxtaposed with a very pessimistic vision of the development prospects for Asia made by Gunnar Myrdal in his three-volume work. Asian drama: a survey of the poverty of nations, published in 1968.

What have been the models of development and transformation of the continent in the countries and sub-regions? What paths have been taken by successful industrialists in Asia to escape poverty and achieve prosperity? Is there an emerging “Asian consensus” that is unique and different from the conventional wisdom summarized by the Washington Consensus? Why are South Asia and India lagging behind East Asian economies in industrialization? And what lessons are there for laggards like India to chart their own transition to industrialization and prosperity?