In the 1930s the Japanese economist Kaname Akamatsu proposed a theory of how the economies of Asia might take wing. It became known as the "flying geese" model of development. As Akamatsu pointed out, "Wild geese fly in orderly ranks forming an inverse v, just as aeroplanes fly in formation." Japan, the first Asian country to industrialise, would lead the way. Its neighbours would follow, breaking into new industries as the goose in front graduated out of them. Yet this year Japan was overtaken by a goose in its slipstream-not China, which remains far poorer than Japan, even if its economy is now bigger, but rather the island economy of Taiwan.
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