Product Description

A compelling look at the major changes in store as America faces increasing competition from two emerging Asian giants.

In the streets of India, camels pull carts loaded with construction materials, and monkeys race across roads, dodging cars. In China, men in Mao jackets pedal bicycles along newly built highways, past skyscrapers sprouting like bamboo. Yet exotic India is as near as the voice answering an 800 number for one dollar an hour. Communist China is as close as the nearest Wal-Mart, its shelves full of goods made in Chinese factories.

Not since the United States rose to prominence a century ago have we seen such tectonic shifts in global power; but India and China are vastly different nations, with opposing economic and political strategies—strategies we must understand in order to survive in the new global economy. The Elephant and the Dragon tells how these two Asian nations, each with more than a billion people, have spurred a new "gold rush," and what this will mean for the rest of the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31196 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Meredith, who covers India and China for Forbes, upends conventional wisdom in this well-reported book, arguing that the U.S. shouldn't fear these two rising economic powers. The U.S. (buyer to the world) and China (factory to the world) have, respectively, the largest and fourth largest economies, but they will reach parity in 2015. Though American politicians tax Chinese goods, Meredith points out that Americans actually gain from the undervalued yuan: our companies profit from the cheap goods the Chinese manufacture. Meanwhile, India (backoffice to the world) has picked up most of the one million white-collar jobs that moved out of the U.S. by 2003. But Meredith notes that for every dollar that goes overseas, $1.94 of wealth is created—all but 33 cents of which returns to the U.S. Protrade and antiprotectionist, she makes a compelling argument that China is doing better than India because it moved toward a market economy in 1978, while India began to liberalize in 1991. She also looks critically at each country's plans for the future, noting that China's citizens save more, while India's infrastructure and education system are falling behind. She concludes that if inward-facing India and communist China can transform themselves, so can the United States of America. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Laural Merlington energetically navigates this densely packed overview of India and China and their rise to the status of economic powerhouses. Merlington does not allow herself to be rushed, despite the lengthy sentences, complex syntax, and detailed facts that characterize most of the chapters in this volume. She takes her time, enunciating every word, allowing listeners to process the minutia of historical data. Her bright inflection keeps the otherwise dry subject matter from fading into background noise or seeming self-evident in light of the contemporary focus on these Asian markets. Merlington creates an engaging audio history lesson for the otherwise faint of heart. M.R. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Meredith, a foreign correspondent, describes the global power shift occurring in India and in China as computers continue to change the way business is conducted. The U.S. and Europe have lost both low- and high-paying jobs to these countries, and there are other factors at play, such as the unquenchable global thirst for oil and massive environmental issues. This is a complicated story because as jobs are lost, cheap goods are being imported and sold at low prices to American consumers, and some retailers' stock prices are rising, to the benefit of workers' 401K accounts. The author notes, "In this decade, a clear pattern emerged: China became factory to the world, the United States became buyer to the world, and India began to become back office to the world." In this thought-provoking and well-researched book, the author advises that the U.S. must strengthen its education system, promote innovation, forget about protectionism or unfettered free markets, and focus on creating jobs. Whaley, Mary

Customer Reviews

A Challenge Facing America
While I spend most of my time writing and speaking about India's role in the global economy I am always aware of the rise of China and the economic challenge that it poses to America.

One of the fine works which looks at that is "The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us" by Robyn Meredith, the editor for Forbes magazine based in Hong Kong.
Meredith , points out that India has developed its infrastructure and economy to the level that it no longer should be seen as a dumping ground for cheap consumer goods.

But personally I found the book more interesting because of Meredith's insight into China. Meredith issues a wake-up call when she points out that China now exports more in one day than it sold abroad during all of 1978.

We need to listen and consider the implications that China's rapid economic growth was directed by an authoritarian leadership rather than by a democratic economy. Another wake-up call is that China's (and India's) need for raw materials and energy will prompt it to turn to such countries as Iran, the Sudan, and Venezuela.

Meredith also does a nice job discussing those forces that will hinder China's and India's long-term development. The author also does a good job in discussing what should be America's role in the global economy, why we should abandon isolationism, and why the U.S. must have a greater focus on education.

By Gunjan Bagla
Author of Doing Business in 21st Century India

the elephant & the dragon
Excellent book!! If you are interested in the upcoming and important economies of the world this is a must read. This is a very readable and entertaining book.

scary
Well, Robyn lays it all out here. Kids say in school. This is good reading and very pertinent information for people in the work force today. Things have changed in the last seven years. Stay informed, this is a good informative book.
Damon