IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v26y1994i1p71-94.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Enter the Dragon: Lessons for Australia from Northeast Asia?

Author

Listed:
  • M Webber

    (Department of Geography, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia)

Abstract

The 1980s saw a conscious restructuring of economic life in Australia. The direction of that restructuring was derived partly from prescriptions about the virtues of free trade and government deregulation. Another influence has been the view that the economic success of Japan and the Asian ‘dragons’ is because of their adoption of free trade and liberal market regimes. In this paper, evidence from Korea and Taiwan is used to show that this interpretation is seriously flawed. The growth of the dragons was not driven by comparative advantage. Rather, the industries of the dragons were set up independently of their competitiveness; some became competitive by exporting. Industrialisation in the newly industrialised countries (NICs) exemplifies a variety of forms of local initiative by a state: how does it have the will and power to create industrial policy? The development of state policy depends on local class structures and perceptions of the global political and economic environment that nullify attempts simply to copy policy into different social and economic circumstances. The lessons of the economic success of the Northeast Asian NICs are improperly drawn in two respects: these are dirigiste, not free market, economies; and even if that intervention has been for the good it does not follow that similar policies could be applied, much less be successful, in the different place that is Australia. This is the geographic lesson: places differ, and so, therefore, must policies.

Suggested Citation

  • M Webber, 1994. "Enter the Dragon: Lessons for Australia from Northeast Asia?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 26(1), pages 71-94, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:26:y:1994:i:1:p:71-94
    DOI: 10.1068/a260071
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a260071
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/a260071?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. Fransman, Martin, 1986. "International competitiveness, technical change and the state: The machine tool industry in Taiwan and Japan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 14(12), pages 1375-1396, December.
    2. Singer, Hans W. & Gray, Patricia, 1988. "Trade policy and growth of developing countries: some new data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 395-403, March.
    3. Teubal, Morris, 1984. "The role of technological learning in the exports of manufactured goods: the case of selected capital goods in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 12(8), pages 849-865, August.
    4. Cumings, Bruce, 1984. "The origins and development of the Northeast Asian political economy: industrial sectors, product cycles, and political consequences," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(1), pages 1-40, January.
    5. Alam, M Shahid, 1991. "Trade Orientation and Macroeconomic Performance in LDCs: An Empirical Study," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(4), pages 839-848, July.
    6. Ranis, Gustav, 1989. "The role of institutions in transition growth: The East Asian newly industrializing countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 17(9), pages 1443-1453, September.
    7. Dollar, David, 1991. "Convergence of South Korean productivity on West German levels, 1966-1978," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 19(2-3), pages 263-273.
    8. Gunasekera, H. Don B. H., 1989. "Intraindustry specialization in production and trade in newly industrializing countries: A conceptual framework and some empirical evidence from East Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 17(8), pages 1279-1287, August.
    9. Rob Vos, 1982. "External Dependence, Capital Accumulation, and the Role of the State: South Korea 1960‐77," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 13(1), pages 91-121, January.
    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. Onafowora, Olugbenga A. & Owoye, Oluwole, 1998. "Can Trade Liberalization Stimulate Economic Growth in Africa?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 497-506, March.
    2. Reppas, Panayiotis A. & Christopoulos, Dimitris K., 2005. "The export-output growth nexus: Evidence from African and Asian countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 929-940, November.
    3. Umoh, Okon J. & Onye, Kenneth U., 2013. "The Growth Implication of Trade Liberalization in West Africa," MPRA Paper 88371, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Hye, Qazi Muhammad Adnan & Wizarat, Shahida & Lau, Wee-Yeap, 2013. "Trade-led growth hypothesis: An empirical analysis of South Asian countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 654-660.
    5. Vianna, Andre C. & Mollick, Andre V., 2021. "Threshold effects of terms of trade on Latin American growth," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(4).
    6. Aleh Mazol, 2015. "Exchange Rate, Imports of Intermediate and Capital Goods and GDP Growth in Belarus," BEROC Working Paper Series 32, Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center (BEROC).
    7. repec:ilo:ilowps:258768 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Dar, Atul A. & AmirKhalkhali, Sal, 2002. "Government size, factor accumulation, and economic growth: evidence from OECD countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 24(7-8), pages 679-692, November.
    9. Shigehisa Kasahara, 2004. "The Flying Geese Paradigm: A Critical Study Of Its Application To East Asian Regional Development," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 169, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    10. Joshua J. Lewer & Hendrik Van den Berg, 2003. "How Large Is International Trade’s Effect on Economic Growth?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(3), pages 363-396, July.
    11. Harrison, Ann & Rodríguez-Clare, Andrés, 2010. "Trade, Foreign Investment, and Industrial Policy for Developing Countries," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4039-4214, Elsevier.
    12. Rajah Rasiah, 2011. "The Role of Institutions and Linkages in Learning and Innovation," Institutions and Economies (formerly known as International Journal of Institutions and Economies), Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, vol. 3(2), pages 165-172, July.
    13. Bolesta Andrzej, 2018. "Post-socialist Myanmar and the East Asian Development Model," Central European Economic Journal, Sciendo, vol. 5(52), pages 172-185, January.
    14. S.M. Shafaeddin, 2005. "Trade Liberalization And Economic Reform In Developing Countries: Structural Change Or De-Industrialization?," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 179, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    15. Nasim Shah Shirazi & Turkhan Ali Abdul Manap, 2005. "Export-Led Growth Hypothesis: Further Econometric Evidence From South Asia," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 43(4), pages 472-488, December.
    16. Khan, Safdar Ullah Khan, 2005. "Macro Determinants of Total Factor Productivity in Pakistan," MPRA Paper 8693, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Sep 2005.
    17. Xiaoguang Wang, 2020. "Leadership-building dilemmas in emerging powers’ economic diplomacy: Russia’s energy diplomacy and China’s OBOR," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 117-138, March.
    18. Bolesta, Andrzej, 2014. "The East Asian industrial policy: a critical analysis of the developmental state," Studia z Polityki Publicznej / Public Policy Studies, Warsaw School of Economics, vol. 1(2), pages 1-23, June.
    19. Héctor M. Núñez, 2013. "How Relevant Has Been the Learning-by-Doing for Brazilian Sugarcane Ethanol Production?," Working Papers DTE 552, CIDE, División de Economía.
    20. Kim, Sangho & Lim, Hyunjoon & Park, Donghyun, 2010. "Productivity and Employment in a Developing Country: Some Evidence from Korea," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 514-522, April.
    21. International Monetary Fund, 2014. "Cabo Verde: Staff Report for the 2014 Article IV Consultation," IMF Staff Country Reports 2014/296, International Monetary Fund.

    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:envira:v:26:y:1994:i:1:p:71-94. 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.