Few countries have experienced an economic Make transformation as dramatic as China's. In nineteen seventy eight, the country was overwhelmingly rural, poor and isolated. Today, it is the world's second largest economy, a global manufacturing hub, and a rising technological power. Over eight hundred million people have been lifted out of poverty in the process. To analyse China, I use two theoretical lenses. First, Gerschenkron s idea of late industrialisation helps explain why the state plays such a big role in accelerating catch up. Second, Danny Roderick's political trilemma helps us see why China chose deep global integration while preserving political control, a choice with big consequences.

Singapore's story raises provocative questions for listeners. Can liberal democracies like the UK or US adopt Singapore style policies? If Singapore's success inseparable from its unique political context, does Singapore prove that sovereignty and integration is possible if democracy is diluted? Does Singapore show that democracy is not always a net positive for countries? Imagine a tiny island city state smaller than London, with no natural resources, yet boasting one of the highest GDP per capita levels in the world. Welcome to Singapore, an economic powerhouse often labelled a miracle.

In the debut episode of Economic DNA of Nations, we explore the paradoxes of the UK economy. Once a manufacturing powerhouse, Britain has transformed into a service-driven financial hub—yet struggles with stagnant productivity, inequality, and regional divides.

From Thatcher’s neoliberal reforms to Brexit’s lasting impact, we trace the forces that shaped today’s economy through multiple lenses—Keynesian, neoliberal, institutional, and developmental.

Can the UK overcome its productivity puzzle, bridge its North–South divide, and lead the green transition? Or will it continue to rely on finance while falling behind global peers?

Next time: Singapore—how a tiny nation built an outsized economic model.