China is undergoing a very rapid process of structural and institutional transformation, which has led to dramatic increases in income levels. During this process, the country is facing a series of development challenges that need to be dealt with in order to sustain growth. The question posed in this paper is whether China has anything to learn from the Swedish process of development, or the ‘Swedish Model’. The author first describes the emergence of the Swedish Model, and then summarises its main features and the various institutions, both economic and political, that have sustained it. He discusses governance issues, the welfare state, and policies towards the private sector. He contrasts the situation of China with that of Sweden, in order to try to ascertain whether an analysis of the Swedish Model gives insights that are of relevance to China.

This paper reviews evidence on the evolution of international economic integration of Asia–Pacific countries, and discusses the extent to which this explains their recent growth success. It starts with a review of some theoretical arguments in the growth and globalisation debate, which is followed by a presentation of facts about Asia–Pacific international economic integration and growth relative to other regions of the world. The causes of the growth acceleration in the Asia–Pacific region are then discussed, with reflections on the relationships between policy reforms, openness, and per capita income growth. Finally, some tentative conclusions are drawn about future growth in the region.

The trend towards globalization of the last few decades has been manifested in the sustained growth of world trade and flows of investment and technology. For most regions this growing integration has led to rapidly growing per capita incomes, while Africa has stagnated at the income level achieved about three decades ago. This paper shows that Africa is marginal to the world economy, but that the world economy is very important for Africa. In terms of openness to trade Africa closed up during the 1960s and 1970s, while it has been trying to open up since then. So far the results in terms of growth have been modest. The question posed here is whether Africa can effectively link up with the rest of the world and start a catch-up process, or whether marginalisation is inevitable.

Economic development depends upon resource availability, resource allocation, and the efficiency of resource use. One would presume that countries with an abundance of natural resources would stand a better chance of developing than resource-poor countries. Recent experiences in less developed countries show, however, that countries with an abundance of natural resources have grown at a slower pace than countries with scarce natural resources. Zambia is a case in point. Its economy has been based on copper mining, but over the last three decades per capita incomes in Zambia have been halved. This paper shows how policy-making in such a resource abundant economy is biased by the availability of resource rents. It further discusses the implications for the policies of international financial institutions and other donors in such a setting, and the possibilities for the domestic process to sustain a system of good governance.