Strong leadership has historically played a key role in helping some regions take off. Asia’s postwar boom began in Japan, spread to a second tier of economies led by South Korea and Taiwan, then to a third tier led by Thailand and Indonesia, and a fourth led by China. A Japanese economist called this the “flying geese” model of development. As Japan rose up the development ladder to make ever more sophisticated products, the second tier learned from its example and slipped into the industries Japan had vacated, followed themselves by the third tier, and so on.
