Colonial legacies : economic and social development in East and Southeast Asia / Anne E. Booth.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-231) and index.

Ch. 1. Introduction -- Ch. 2. Economic growth and structural change : 1900-1940 -- Ch. 3. Agricultural expansion, population growth, and access to land -- Ch. 4. What were colonial governments doing? : the myth of the night watchman state -- Ch. 5. International trade, balance of payments, and exchange rate policies : 1900-1940 -- Ch. 6. Growth and diversification of the market economy -- Ch. 7. Changing living standards and human development -- Ch. 8. The greater Asian co-prosperity sphere : 1942-1945 -- Ch. 9. The transition to independent states -- Ch. 10. Conclusions.

"It is well known that Taiwan and South Korea, both former Japanese colonies, achieved rapid growth and industrialization after 1960. The performance of former European and American colonies (Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines) has been less impressive. Some scholars have attributed the difference to better infrastructure and greater access to education in Japans colonies. Anne Booth examines and critiques such arguments in this ambitious comparative study of economic development in East and Southeast Asia from the beginning of the twentieth century until the 1960s."--BOOK JACKET.