Book review: The Elephant and the Dragon: Robyn Meredith

I find emerging markets fascinating. There is usually an exciting debate about how established markets will compete and how workers and governments will have to adapt.

Anyone who is curious about emerging markets can read about the rise of India and China in The Elephant and The Dragon, a riveting book I devoured over two evenings.

Robyn Meredith examines in forensic yet readable detail what the rapid economic advances of two of the world's most populated countries means for the West, in particular the USA.

She also draws direct comparisons between the two, explaining the reasons for their differing development and infrastructure.

Robyn Meredith gives a revealing history of China's years of brutal communism under Chairman Mao, detailing how the economic reforms instated by Deng Xiaopeng led to China becoming a major economic power.

She also blames the polices of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru for India's poor economic record until the 1990's. Ever since then, India has slowly become a thriving country.

The Elephant and the Dragon also examines the benefits of businesses relocating to India and China, and past drawbacks.

Meredith is balanced, pointing out the problems that economic development has caused.

One example is the appalling air quality in both India and China. The world's biggest city, China's Chongqing, is also one of the worst places to breathe. It has a population of around 30 million.

She finishes by discussing how the West should react, and calls for American education to improve and for Americans to save more and borrow much less. It is a shame many did not heed this good advice.

The Elephant and the Dragon is an excellent evaluation of the economic status of India and China

Anyone who is interested in international development or emerging markets should read this book.

ISBN: 978-0-393-06236-6