Economics

TLDR – Summary: Based on Joe Studwell’s How Asia Works, this article argues India skipped the “land → manufacturing → finance” formula that drove East Asian growth. East Asian model: Land reform boosted small-farm output, state-led export manufacturing forced global competition, and financial control funneled capital into industry. India’s detour: Post-1991 liberalization built an IT/BPO powerhouse (<1% workforce) instead of a broad manufacturing base (~14% vs. 30% in East Asia).