Law and development in East and South-East Asia

Introduction / Christoph Antons -- Law and development from the Southeast Asian perspective: methodology, history, and paradigm change / Nobuyuki Yasuda -- APEC, industry policy, and the role of law / Bernard G. Bishop -- The rule of law, economic development, and the developmental states of Northeast Asia / John K.M. Ohnesorge -- Globalization vs. paternalistic regulation: some thoughts about economic success, the role of law, and the regulation of Japan's financial markets / Harald Baum -- The rule of law or law as instrument of rule: law and the economic development of Japan with particular regard to industrial policy / Richard Boyd -- Industrial policy and intellectual property in Japan and beyond / Christopher Heath -- Japan as a model: comparing law and development in Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia / Christoph Antons -- Policy as law and law as policy: the role of law in China's development strategy / Jianfu Chen -- The clonability of the Singapore model of law and development: the case of Suzhou, China / Connie Carter -- Prosperity at a price: regulation of organized labour in Malaysia / Jesse Wu Min Aun -- The legal regulation of technology transfer: arrangements within ASEAN / Michael Blakeney -- Resolving trade disputes in Asia: an essay about the laws, institutions, and cultures / Robert E. Lutz -- Asian economic crisis and legal institutions: a tale of two cities / Roman Tomasic.

During the 1980s and 1990s Asian 'developmental states' attracted much attention in political science and economics literature, but the role of law in the economic development was neglected. It was only after the Asian crisis of 1997 that many analysts began to focus on a lack of regulation and transparency as a major factor triggering the crisis. The crucial questions now are how successful the current reforms will be, and which features of the Asian approach to commercial law will be resistant to reform pressures. This book examines the prospects for commercial law reform in Asia, giving particular attention to Japan and Singapore, as frequently cited role models for Asian developmentalism, and also examining development related business laws in countries such as China, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.