Yasheng Huang on Economic Growth in China and India, TED Talk, July 2011

If you don't have time to watch the video here are the takeaway points:
Infrastructure (roads, highways, buildings) are the result, not guaranteed cause, of economic growth. 
For every authoritarian government that has been economically successful, there has been a matched failure, particularly when it comes to East Asia. 
Human capital is what differentiates China from India when it comes to economic growth.
Economic growth cannot occur without women and economic opportunities for women.

Watching stuff like this makes me miss academia (on the slightest level). I really liked Yasheng Huang's book Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics. The way he approaches economic development and political issues with objectivity and rationality is admirable. If I ever become an academic I would want to do it with the same style and motivation he has.