New Delhi: The poorest continent in the world barely a half century ago, Asia is set to regain its dominant position in the global architecture, both financially and politically, and could account for more than one-half of world income and more than half of the people on Earth, according to a new book by eminent economist Deepak Nayyar.
This will complete the circle for Asia, which in 1820 also accounted for more than one-half of the world income and two-thirds of world population before waves of European colonialism ravaged the continent, sucking out its wealth with exploitative rule that left millions impoverished.
In the book 'Resurgent Asia: Diversity in Development', Nayyar writes that despite wide diversity among Asian countries, there are common discernible patterns.
Chief among them was the fact that economic growth drove development; rising investment and savings rates combined with the spread of education were the underlying factors; and growth was driven by rapid industrialisation, often export-led, associated with structural changes in the composition of output and employment.