The Role of the Legal Structure in the Development of South Asian Tigers

There are many factors which contribute to the development of an economy. Some of them are geographical location, availability of natural resources, and availability of skilled workforce. Economic growth and social development are also affected by the legal procedures and mechanisms through which norms are enforced and interpreted by the court system and alternative dispute resolution mechanism. This paper intends to bring into light the legal aspects of the South Asian Tigers, which have aided the development of these countries. The four countries that have been studied are Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and Singapore. The reason for choosing these countries is that they have witnessed immense development in the near past and hence make an interesting subject for study. The amount of development these countries have witnessed can be made out from their human developmental figures over the past few decades. The emphasis is placed on the industrial relations aspect and hence the labour laws of these countries have been referred to. The legal provisions relating to industrial relations from these four countries have been analyzed and commonalities, which contributed to development, have been identified.