The economies of many Asian countries have grown rapidly over the last several decades. Some of them, like South Korea, have even joined the ‘rich man’s club,’ the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.  This course will study the political and economic pathways traveled by select Asian countries on their road to prosperity.  The focus will be on three specific countries: South Korea, China and India.  We will analyze comparatively the models of development pursued in these countries, especially the state’s role in promoting growth and distribution.  While learning about specific cases, we will also address such general issues: role of states and markets in development; importance of democratic versus authoritarian regimes as agents of growth and distribution; and the significance of a country’s global setting for its developmental trajectory.  The course will compare and contrast Asian models of development by combining historical, political and economic analysis.