Already in the 1960s the four little dragons Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan started their industrialization moving steadily upwards with increasing growth rates, some of them double-digit in the 1980s. Most significant for these results has been their export-oriented growth strategy capitalizing on low labour costs and opening them up to the world market with all its benefits and pressures. Until today they have attracted quite a lot of foreign investors bringing technology and skills beside the pure capital. Thus, all four countries have reached a more sophisticated level of production and partly even developed into service and financial centres.Combining these developments with the already advanced Japan, the entire Asia-Pacific Region must be seen as an extremely dynamic area often also mentioned as the Pacific Challenge. Thus it is of high interest to examine the determinants of growth behind this challenge, behind the economic success.Because of the specific Asian dimension of the success, especially the Asian mentality, a transfer of the growth strategy can only be possible to a very limited degree. But the Asian experiences can at least be helpful to the formulation of a country related development strategy showing up generally important growth factors.The contributors to this book analyze important factors such as development planning, foreign investment, deregulation, government intervention, human capital, finance and banking (service sector), technology transfer and promotion, trade (export promotion), agriculture and regional cooperation. For this purpose experts in Science and Economics report from their experiences.

This book analyses the growth, development and crisis experiences of the Southeast Asian economies, in particular, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- also known as ASEAN-5. The proposition is developed that the robust economic performance of the Southeast Asian economies during the past four decades has been attributed to the various factors, developments and independent national policies which have been pursued by the individual member countries rather than to any regional economic framework. The book covers eleven topics which is suitable for a one-semester course on the economics of Southeast Asia. Also, it has a narrower area coverage as it focuses only on the five economies, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The sectoral treatment of the crisis impact and the analytical treatment of policy responses to the crisis differentiate this book from other publications on the same topic. Finally, the book provides an analysis of national developments, policies and factors which have contributed to the economic transformation of the respective Southeast Asian economies.

Catch-Up Industrialization is an innovative examination of how the political ideology of 'developmentalism' has driven East Asian economic growth. The author considers innovative production and management techniques, the patterns of industrial relations, and the way education shapes the workforce, using this information to assess late 20th century East Asian economic development based on economic liberalization and the rapid diffusion of information technology.The term 'catch-up' links developing and developed countries, and defines the socioeconomic mindset common to high-growth societies of Asia. The author's argument differs from neoclassical approaches emphasizing the workings of the market, statist ones emphasizing policy rather than private initiatives, business studies lacking macroeconomic and global perspectives, work by development economists based on agriculture, and World BankIMF studies that lack socio-cultural and historical understanding.

This paper studies the ability that exposure and sensitivity of the determinants to the South Eastern Asia economic growth. It analyzes the relationships between trade openness, foreign aid, domestic investment, long-term external debt, government spending and economic growth in South Eastern Asia. The South Eastern Asia's country concludes all the 11 countries, which were Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and lastly Vietnam. It examined the South East Asia's dramatic economic growth during the past forty years and explores the prospects for continued growth during the next forty years. This paper uses annual time series data for 11 Southern East Asia countries for the period 1970-2012. Data are retrieved from UNCTAD Statistics, Thompson Data Stream, Bank Negara Malaysia. The effects and impacts of trade openness, foreign aid, domestic investment, long-term external debt, and government spending on economic growth for the 11 South East Asian countries is assess using multiple model and regressions.

It is well known that Taiwan and South Korea, both former Japanese colonies, achieved rapid growth and industrialization after 1960. The performance of former European and American colonies (Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines) has been less impressive. Some scholars have attributed the difference to better infrastructure and greater access to education in Japan’s colonies. Anne Booth examines and critiques such arguments in this ambitious comparative study of economic development in East and Southeast Asia from the beginning of the twentieth century until the 1960s. Booth takes an in-depth look at the nature and consequences of colonial policies for a wide range of factors, including the growth of export-oriented agriculture and the development of manufacturing industry. She evaluates the impact of colonial policies on the growth and diversification of the market economy and on the welfare of indigenous populations. Indicators such as educational enrollments, infant mortality rates, and crude death rates are used to compare living standards across East and Southeast Asia in the 1930s. Her analysis of the impact that Japan’s Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere and later invasion and conquest had on the region and the living standards of its people leads to a discussion of the painful and protracted transition to independence following Japan’s defeat. Throughout Booth emphasizes the great variety of economic and social policies pursued by the various colonial governments and the diversity of outcomes. Lucidly and accessibly written, Colonial Legacies offers a balanced and elegantly nuanced exploration of a complex historical reality. It will be a lasting contribution to scholarship on the modern economic history of East and Southeast Asia and of special interest to those concerned with the dynamics of development and the history of colonial regimes.

This volume reflects the wide range of development issues and problems of the economies of East and Southeast Asia whose dynamic performances have caught the attention of many around the world. It also serves to honour Professor Shinichi Ichimura for his dedication and many contributions to creating a better understanding of the development issues faced by the countries in the region. Both the editors and all of the contributors in this book have worked with Professor Ichimura at one time or another.