East Asian Capitalism

The increasing economic and political importance of East Asia in the global political economy requires a deeper analysis of the nature of the capitalist systems in this region than has been provided by the existing literature on comparative capitalisms. This volume brings together conceptual and empirical analyses of the evolving patterns of East Asian capitalism against the backdrop of regional and global market integration and periodic economic crises since the 1980s. Focusing on China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand, it provides an interdisciplinary account of variations, continuities, and changes in the institutional structures that govern financial systems, industrial relations, and product markets, and that shape the evolution of national political economies.

While the volume encompasses a range of different cases, specific issues, and diverse methodologies, all the chapters address two dominant themes--the continuities and changes in the institutional underpinnings of capitalist development and the main driving forces behind them. The book thus provides an integrated analysis of how changing institutional practices in business, financial, and labor systems interact and affect the evolution of capitalist political economies in the region.

Andrew Walter is Reader in International Political Economy and Research Associate in the Department of Management at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Academic Director of the TRIUM Global Executive MBA Programme. He sits on the Council of Chatham House, a leading British think-tank of international affairs, and on the Academic Advisory Panel of The International Centre for Financial Regulation. His research has focused primarily on the political economy of global financial and monetary relations, with a regional focus on East Asia. His recent books include Governing Finance: East Asia's Adoption of International Standards (Cornell University Press, 2008), Analyzing the Global Political Economy (Princeton University Press, 2009, with Gautam Sen), and China, the United States, and Global Order (Cambridge University Press, 2011, with Rosemary Foot).

Xiaoke Zhan is Professor at the Manchester Business School, the University of Manchester. His research interests are in comparative political economy, with a regional focus on East Asia. His recent publications include The Political Economy of Capital Market Reforms in Southeast Asia (Palgrave Macmillan 2011) and International Financial Governance under Stress (Cambridge University Press, 2003, with Geoffrey R.D. Underhill).