Joe Studwell on Africa, Asia, and What Development Actually Requires

00:00:00 - When Tyler called Joe Studwell's How Asia Works "perhaps my favorite economics book of the year" back in 2013, he wasn't alone: it became one of the most influential treatments of industrial policy ever written. Now Studwell has turned his attention to Africa with How Africa Works. Tyler calls it excellent, extremely well-researched, and essential reading, but does Studwell's optimism about the continent hold up under scrutiny? Tyler and Joe explore whether population density actually solves development, which African countries are likely to achieve stable growth, whether Africa has a manufacturing future, why state infrastructure projects decay while farmer-led irrigation thrives, what progress looks like in education and public health, whether charter cities or special economic zones can work, and how permanent Africa's colonial borders really are. After testing Joe's optimism about Africa, Tyler shifts back to Asia: what Japan and South Korea will do about depopulation, why industrial policy worked in East Asia but failed in India and Brazil, what went wrong in Thailand, and what Joe will tackle next. Recorded January 23th, 2026 Transcript and links: https://conversationswithtyler.com/ep... Stay connected: Follow us on X, IG, and Facebook: @cowenconvos   / cowenconvos     / cowenconvos     / cowenconvos   Sign up for our newsletter: https://mercatus.tfaforms.net/5060931 Join us on Discord:   / discord   https://conversationswithtyler.com https://mercatus.org Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Population density and development 00:06:14 - Stability of governance 00:13:03 - Manufacturing capacity 00:23:05 - Infrastructure 00:28:09 - Educational progress 00:34:02 - Public health progress 00:37:33 - Foreign investment and special economic zones 00:42:05 - Permanency of African borders 00:46:07 - How Asia’s working 00:52:18 - The success of industrial policy Image Credit: Nick J.B. Moore