Conversations with Tyler
Joe Studwell on Africa, Asia, and What Development Actually Requires
Feb 18, 2026
· 53m
<p class="MsoNormal">When Tyler called Joe Studwell's <em><span style= "font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> How Asia Works</span></em> "perhaps my favorite economics book of the year" back in 2013, he wasn't alone: it became one of the most influential treatments of industrial policy ever written. Now Studwell has turned his attention to Africa with <em><span style= "font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> How Africa Works</span></em>. Tyler calls it excellent, …