This book addresses the lack of a clear developmental paradigm in the post-Washington consensus Latin America. The author illustrates the failure of both structural and neoliberal policies, arguing that a new set of ideas is needed to lift Latin American countries into long term sustained growth. He suggests that observing East Asian economies such as Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and, in certain cases, China, can provide important lessons for policy makers, in particular in the field of industrial policy. Thus, the book touches upon an issue that is currently often discussed in the university rooms, bars and taxis of Latin America: the rise of the economic and geopolitical importance of South East Asia vis-a-vis Latin America. It does so in a pragmatic and policy oriented way, using comparative economic history. The result is interesting and very accessible thanks to the use of clear language, free from cumbersome theoretical terminologies.

The most innovative part of the book is the first chapter where the author illustrates how specific sets of ideas, such as neoliberalism, have affected economic policies in different historical periods. He underlines that economic paradigms become dominant when promoted by alliances of private interests, politicians and what he calls ‘economic knowledge networks’ – experts, lobbyists and advisors from both home and abroad. Economic paradigms change when they lose societal support, for example when there is an economic crisis. However, for such change to occur there must also be an alternative set of ideas to substitute for the currently dominant economic paradigm. The author points out that neoliberalism's failure to deliver satisfactory results created an important opportunity for Latin American countries to adopt a new economic policy agenda, and asserts that the other chapters of the book will provide the guidelines of such a post- neoliberal paradigm. Hira's call for change is inspired and inspiring. Unfortunately, the book does not live up to the expectations it raises in this first chapter.

The author recasts with passion the research agenda set out by Gereffi et al in Manufacturing Miracles (Princeton, 1990), drawing heavily on the literature on technological capabilities and the industrial policies of the East Asian tigers, particularly the extensive work of Sanjaya Lall. The core proposition of the book is that Latin American countries should emulate the East Asian tigers: they should attempt to build up their comparative advantage in manufacturing, which will diversify their economies, generate employment, and promote economic growth. The argument for a new set of industrial policies in Latin America is convincing and well articulated, although perhaps it is more a restatement of neo-structuralist ideas than a ‘change in weltanshaung’ as Hira claims in his preface (Preface, p. x), especially to a reader who is familiar with the work of CEPAL and of writers such as Lall and Wade.

The author praises Latin Americans' capacity to absorb, adapt and implement different economic paradigms and policies. Yet perhaps he underestimates the extent to which this actually occurred during the import substitution industrialisation period. Some of the book's proposed policies have been repeatedly experimented with in Latin America, often with unsatisfying results. Several Latin American states promoted large firms, both state-owned and multinationals, in strategic sectors: aerospace, automotive, information technology, and so forth. The common denominator of these policies – which Hira fails to mention – is that they were expensive: consumers paid a high price for low quality manufactures, and the state dedicated a large share of its resources to support these industries. In a few cases, such as the Brazilian aircraft exporter Embraer, these policies produced globally competitive firms. However, in most cases, they failed to build the comparative advantage of local industry or to create a sufficiently high number of jobs to justify their resource drain on national economies.

Hira's desire to see more companies like Embraer in Latin America is understandable. However, the book fails to take into account the literature on industrial clusters: regions of the world such as the Third Italy have experienced sustained economic growth thanks to a myriad of small and medium enterprises producing ‘non strategic’ manufactures, often with little support from the state. By focusing on strategic sectors, the book downplays the importance of less visible and less trendy sectors: shoe manufacturing, tourism, specialised agricultural exports (wine, organic products); which have lower barriers to entry for local entrepreneurs (they are less capital and technology intensive), can potentially generate more employment than strategic sectors, and tend to be more embedded in local society.

The author's broad message is that the state is the only actor that can bring the region into an era of better economic performance and higher prosperity. However, as Hira himself notes, Latin American elites have successfully adapted to different economic paradigms, continuing to capture the rents of economic policy: they invested in industry during import substitution, whilst they purchased private monopolies during neoliberalism. The author highlights that it is necessary to isolate the state from rent-seeking groups and corruption. But he does not provide innovative suggestions about how to do so. If he did, perhaps the book would not just be an interesting read on industrial policy, but a new guide on how to reform the state in Latin America.