When he travels to Asia this week, U.S. President Barack Obama will find himself in unfamiliar territory: not Asia, which he visited just last year, but amid leaders who enjoy popular mandates, negligible political opposition or both. That makes their reluctance to do big things all the more mystifying — and inexcusable.
Leaders of the region’s three largest economies — Xi Jinping of China, Shinzo Abe of Japan and Narendra Modi of India — have sold themselves as tough-minded reformers, prepared to pursue long-overdue structural reforms. Yet thus far, all have adopted incremental approaches, making modest changes that are worthwhile but fall far short of what’s needed to ensure vibrant and sustainable growth.
Gradualism is not good enough. The democratically elected Abe and Modi will never have more political capital than they do now (Abe’s approval ratings have dropped almost 30 points since hitting early highs), and while Xi needn't concern himself with voters, he does have to worry about politics. And all these changes entail political costs.
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