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CHAPTER 2ASIA

The tigers and dragons must make haste.

Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Asia today contains more than half the world’s population. The IT revolution’s collapse of communication and information costs, low sea and air transportation costs, and ongoing economic liberalization have again given Asia’s nations significant power in the world economy.

In the 1980s, “Japan, Inc.” was seemingly on the road to taking over the world’s economy. Faltering U.S. businesses enviously studied Japanese companies. (Remember the rage for Quality Circles?) Rockefeller Center in New York, Pebble Beach in California, and large chunks of Hawaii were purchased by titanic Japan. Land values in Japan ...

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