As the East Asian financial crisis continues to leave a path of destruction economically and politically in its wake, people all over the world seek to know what went wrong. This work, first published in 2000, analyzes the experiences of China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Korea in moving toward both marketization and democracy.

As the East Asian financial crisis continues to leave a path of destruction economically and politically in its wake, people all over the world seek to know what went wrong. Many blame the illiberal markets of the countries involved and many blame their political leadership. This book, first published in 2000, explores how strong, open, liberalized markets create a counterbalance to crony capitalism and corruption and form the basis for a foundation of political liberalization. Using both a quantitative model and qualititative country studies, this work analyzes the experiences of China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Korea in moving toward both marketization and democracy.