The author notes in his introduction that this book is not a comprehensive account as the topics covered are wide-ranging and the region large and dynamic.
'[It] is one more modest contribution to the subject that has attracted . . . the attention of researchers, analysts, journalists and policymakers,' he states.
If the author's preface sounds like the entry point to an off-the-wall ramble, it is. Rao is an academic and his approach is chiefly theoretical. The book is interspersed with statistics and tables, some more interesting than others. He delves into the definition of 'miracle' economies, pointing out that the defining characteristics as stated by the World Bank are high growth and reduced income inequality.
Reduced income inequality is a much-revisited concept and is seen as imperative in preventing political unrest in countries such as Indonesia. East Asian miracle economies need to work at narrowing the gap, to prevent the rise of government policies that will cramp growth.
Rao dedicates several pages to historical economic indicators in regional economies, as a backdrop to a chronology of the Asian crisis and the reasons for it. Much of this information has been published before, in various forms.
Where Rao does deviate from the norm is in the closing chapter on Confucian values and in various smatterings on the subject throughout the book.