Lessons of East Asia: Common Foundations of East Asian Success

摘要

From small city states to large resource-rich countries, East Asia has developedremarkably fast. The region's diversity, however, is not adequately recognized in previous interpretations of its economic miracle. Several alternative explanations have been offered, emphasizing (1) sustained market-oriented policies, cultural propensities for education, entrepreneurship and stable government. Each of these explanations provides insight into the causes of one or more of the region's miracles, but none fits fully the region's wide-ranging experience. The paper argues that the common features of East Asian development lie deeper, in success along three critical dimensions of economic management. Each East Asian miracle economy (1) built a stable macroeconomic environment conducive to investment and enterprise, (2) used powerful market or non-market incentives to guide resources and initiative into efficient activities, and (3) found a dynamic engine of growth to provide leadership for development. (Copyright (c) 1993 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.)