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Professor C.F. Remer of University of Michigan refers to a matter of the utmost importance; namely, that economic development in the Far East must be considered in its political and social environment. In emphasizing this view, attention is given somewhat more specifically to the interrelations between economic and political and social factors. Economists interested in foreign economic development must be concerned not merely with the political and social setting within which such matters as changes in the standard of living and national income are determined, but with the influence of these changes on political and social organization. In the case of a country such as China, economists may hope for the accomplishment of three major objectives: the achievement of a rising national income; an increase in the standard of living of people generally and the establishment of economic conditions which will contribute internally toward democracy and social unity, and externally toward international collaboration.

The article focuses on the economic consequences of World War II on East Asian countries. The war introduced a large number of structural and economic changes in the economies of the Far Eastern countries including Australia, Japan, and Malaya. The region has experienced changes in the distribution of industrial capacity and output, dislocation in the production pattern of agriculture and raw materials, dislocation of trade, migration, changes in labor supply, and disorganization of public fiances during the war. It is noted that these changes should be considered by economists while conducting an economic analysis of these countries.