IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/anname/v505y1989i1p68-79.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What Can Economics Learn from East Asian Success?

Author

Listed:
  • ROBERT WADE

Abstract

Most economics literature on East Asian industrialization falls victim to the assumption that only those features of economic policy consistent with neoclassical principles could have contributed to good economic performance. Explanations of good performance accordingly ignore nonneoclassical features. This article suggests that new insights can be gained by carefully examining what these governments actually did. We find that much of what they did is consistent with the principles of old-style pre- 1970 development economics. In particular, they gave central attention to ways of augmenting and directing the composition of investment, and much less attention to ways of increasing efficiency of resource use. They used protection as an instrument to enhance innovation and international competitiveness. In important industries they regulated both quantities and prices so as to achieve government-selected goals, preventing those parts of the economy from being guided by international prices. Economics has much to learn by embracing such nonneoclassical facts and seeking to build a theory to accommodate them.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Wade, 1989. "What Can Economics Learn from East Asian Success?," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 505(1), pages 68-79, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:505:y:1989:i:1:p:68-79
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716289505001006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002716289505001006
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0002716289505001006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Bank, 1987. "World Development Report 1987," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 5970.
    2. Paul M. Romer, 1987. "Crazy Explanations for the Productivity Slowdown," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1987, Volume 2, pages 163-210, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Edward K. Y. Chen, 1979. "Hyper-growth in Asian Economies," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-04251-7, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kutuk, Yasin, 2022. "Inequality convergence: A world-systems theory approach," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 150-165.
    2. Gordon Cordina, 2004. "Economic Vulnerability And Economic Growth: Some Results From A Neo-Classical Growth Modelling Approach," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 29(2), pages 21-39, December.
    3. Shafaeddin, Mehdi, 2010. "Trade liberalization, industrialization and development; experience of recent decades," MPRA Paper 26355, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Jos� Lobo & Charlotta Mellander & Kevin Stolarick & Deborah Strumsky, 2014. "The Inventive, the Educated and the Creative: How Do They Affect Metropolitan Productivity?," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 155-177, February.
    5. Bin, Sheng, 2000. "The Political Economy of Trade Policy in China," Working Papers 10/2000, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Management, Politics & Philosophy.
    6. Snir, Avichai & Levy, Daniel, 2010. "Economic Growth in the Potterian Economy," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 211-236.
    7. Ziderman, Adrian, 1989. "Payroll taxes for financing training in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 141, The World Bank.
    8. Ramesh Chandra & Roger J. Sandilands, 2021. "Nicholas Kaldor, increasing returns and Verdoorn’s Law," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(2), pages 315-339, April.
    9. Marta dos Reis Castilho, 2009. "Documentos IPEA/CEPAL - Antidumping nas Américas: Uma Investigação dos Efeitos do Uso desse Instrumento sobre as Exportações e sobre a Conduta das Empresas Brasileiras," Discussion Papers 1382, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada - IPEA.
    10. Brainerd, Elizabeth & Siegler, Mark V, 2003. "The Economic Effects of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic," CEPR Discussion Papers 3791, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Elmendorf, Douglas W. & Gregory Mankiw, N., 1999. "Government debt," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 25, pages 1615-1669, Elsevier.
    12. ?gel de la Fuente, "undated". "Convergence Across Countries And Regions: Theory And Empirics," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 447.00, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    13. David Gould & Roy Ruffin, 1995. "Human capital, trade, and economic growth," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 131(3), pages 425-445, September.
    14. Odhiambo, Nicholas M, 2021. "A test of exports-led growth hypothesis in Sub-Saharan African countries: Evidence from panel data analysis," Working Papers 27170, University of South Africa, Department of Economics.
    15. Williams, Joycelyn, 2012. "Beyond Macroeconomic Stability: The Role of Selective Interventions in Guyana’s Growth," MPRA Paper 42755, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Steve Dowrick, 1994. "Openness and Growth," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: Philip Lowe & Jacqueline Dwyer (ed.),International Intergration of the Australian Economy, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    17. Carroll, Christopher D. & Weil, David N., 1994. "Saving and growth: a reinterpretation," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 133-192, June.
    18. N.M. Odhiambo, 2021. "Is Export-Led Growth Hypothesis Still Valid for Sub-Saharan African Countries? New Evidence from Panel Data Analysis," Working Papers AESRI-2021-02, African Economic and Social Research Institute (AESRI), revised Jan 2021.
    19. Yeats,Alexander James, 1989. "Shifting patterns of comparative advantage : manufactured exports in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 165, The World Bank.
    20. Anne O. Krueger, 2019. "Increased capital mobility and policy reform in developing countries," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 113-133, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:505:y:1989:i:1:p:68-79. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.