 The emperor is fully clothed, if a little ragged: East Asian miracles and crisesJournal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 1999, vol. 4, issue 2, 214-232 Abstract: This essay explores evidence from the experience of East Asian economies when they were successful, and lessons from the roots of the current crisis, to attempt to identify ‘good’ economic policies. The essay argues that one of the most important initial conditions in the successful East Asian economies was a predisposition towards a relatively equitable distribution of the gains from growth. Governments in those countries perceived a tradeoff between extracting rents and achieving growth, but most had the administrative and institutional capacity not to subjugate the interests of rent‐seekers to those of pro‐growth policies. In terms of economic policy, macro‐economic management, promotion of a dynamic agricultural sector, government intervention by regulation rather than tax distortions, and relatively export‐oriented trade policies, all appear to be conducive to growth. The current crisis identifies a number of caveats: the dangers of trying to maintain a relatively fixed exchange rate and the costs of not having safeguard regulations in financial markets. Avoiding these mistakes offers a lesson for all. Date: 1999 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rjapxx:v:4:y:1999:i:2:p:214-232 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/13547869908724680 Access Statistics for this article Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy is currently edited by Leong Liew More articles in Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy from Taylor & Francis Journals |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.