In contrast to the literature's focuses on market, culture, state, and dependency, East Asia and the World Economy points to the crucial role of geopolitical and regional factors in East Asian development. The authors provide a cohesive review of the world-systems model as it applies to East Asia, exploring its intellectual heritage, the historical context through which it arose, its basic assumptions, and its policy implications. To illustrate how this model works in East Asia, the authors examine the economies of Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, North Korea, and Japan. The result is a fascinating study that demonstrates how the world-systems model provides a more focused explanation of East Asia's peculiar pattern of development.