East Asian countries have adopted remarkably good policies to ensure sustained economic growth, but how did they come to adopt such policies in the first place? This book produces a more thorough explanation than has previously been advanced drawing on several disciplines including contributions from anthropologists, economists, political scientists, technologists, demographers, historians and psychologists. Several contributors have held high positions in Asian governments. Four broad themes are identified:

* effective governance

* achieving and learning societies

* growth with equity

* external influences

This is the most comprehensive account of the foundations of East Asia's rise. Its distinctiveness lies in the range of comparisons across the countries of East and South-East Asia and in the wide array of contributing disciplines.