“If you don’t agree to our conditions, we will take any measures necessary to deter IBM from operating in Japan,” he said. IBM capitulated, Schuman writes.
IBM spokeswoman Harriet Ip declined to comment on the book.
Government intervention by largely authoritarian regimes is the one constant in almost every economy profiled here. Hong Kong is the odd one out: Its laissez-faire capitalism and hands-off government bred entrepreneurs like billionaire Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠).
Schuman acknowledges that Asia’s hierarchical structure, while conducive to growth, foments corruption and nepotism, as evinced by Indonesia under former president Suharto. Asia also relies too much on exports, a weakness exposed when the credit crisis choked new orders from the US and Europe.
If the Asian model were superior, as Schuman implies, the region would surely have discouraged excessive saving and done more to develop its domestic markets. That, perhaps, is the subject for another book.
RSS