The East Asian NICs in Comparative Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID9762676
AuthorsStephan Haggard (0000-0003-1571-2580, corresponding author)
Year1989
Volume505
Issue1
Pages129-141
Publication date1989-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7162 • E-ISSN: 1552-3349
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0002716289505001011
OpenAlexW2098989375
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited11

Purely economic analyses of the East Asian newly industrializing countries have overlooked the politics of their growth. Why were these countries able to pursue strategies that combined rapid growth with a relatively equitable distribution of income? The reason lies partly in external conditions, including expanding world trade, and, in the case of Taiwan and Korea, pressure from the United States for policy reform. Domestic social and political conditions were also auspicious, however. Export-led growth was facilitated by weak labor movements and the absence of leftist or populist parties. A relatively brief period of import-substitution policies prevented the development of strong protectionist business interests. Equity was advanced by land reforms in Korea and Taiwan and by the absence of a rural sector in Hong Kong and Singapore. No explanation is complete, however, without reference to the strength of the East Asian states, including their insulation from interest-group pressures and their cohesive, meritocratic bureaucracies. These political institutions facilitated coherent, decisive, yet flexible policy

Bureaucracy · China · Development economics · East Asia · Economics · Equity (law · International trade · Left-wing politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Protectionism · Asian Industrial and Economic Development · Socioeconomic Development in Asia

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