Asian Tigers Essay ⋆ Business Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Asian tigers as a term originally referred to the four economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea (South), and Taiwan, which are all known for their very high growth rates and rapid industrialization following Japan from the late 1960s onward. Although usually reserved for the original four economies, the expression “new tigers” since the 1990s and early 2000s has been used for some other economies in Asia (e.g., India) due to their increased visibility in world high technology competition.

Similarities between the original four are, first, an export-driven model of economic development, where goods were exported to the highly industrialized nations. At the same time the governments tried to put a brake on domestic consumption by way of, for example, high tariffs against imports. Other common traits are that the governments focused explicitly on improved education levels as a means to increase productivity. All four economies suffered the impact of the Asian financial crisis of 1997, although in slightly different degrees, with Taiwan seemingly suffering the least.

Differences between the original four Asian tigers are depicted in a book by C. Edquist, L. Hommen, and colleagues: Variation in policies and specialization within different kinds of industries, in addition to obvious cultural and historical variations. Korea is the largest economy of the four, and also has a high complexity of industrial structures. Its industrialization process was rapid and remarkable in that it evolved from being a poor, agricultural economy, undergoing exploitation during Japanese colonization, and experiencing devastation during the Korean War, into a full-fledged industrialized state in a very short time. As in Taiwan, Japanese colonial rule resulted in a capitalist basis for the economy and infrastructure such as railways, marine ports, roads, and irrigation systems, whereas post-colonial development has been an interplay between indigenous policies and relations with selected foreign ideas.

According to the Total Economy Database (TED), Korean gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for the year 1960 was estimated at US$4,071, increasing to US$9,541 (1975), US$15,457 (1985), US$26,161 (1995), and US$30,568 (1999, compared to US$57,460 for the United States). Korea has a dual structure of firms divided into large firms able to have an international technology and market orientation and a large segment of domestic-oriented smaller firms. Industry networks (chaebol groups) and their affiliated firms are dominant in the country also in terms of research and development (R&D), although there is a significant amount of R&D organized as a large government research institute sector rather than in universities. The financial system has predominantly been a banking system and underwent reforms that are in part a result of the more liberalized environment triggered by the aftereffects of the Asian financial crisis.

In the case of Taiwan, the TED figures for GDP per capita are US$4,976 (1960), US$11,559 (1975), US$21,117 (1985), US$31,256 (1995), and US$37,589 (1999). Taiwan can be characterized as a predominantly government policy–led system, although the actual development obviously has been an interplay between government and private firms. However, Taiwan is a prime case of government playing a key strategic role by changing the economic base itself in order to create new market segments in which Taiwanese firms could compete. The Taiwanese system is strongly focused on specialized production, often in the form of original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and original design manufacturing (ODM). This strength is simultaneously a challenge for the system, since it might be necessary to foster new trajectories of growth in the future. For example, the economic growth of mainland China has in part become a source of competition for Taiwan’s existing specializations.

Singapore has experienced rapid development since political independence in 1965. The TED figures for Singapore GDP per capita are US$7,691 (1960), US$17,455 (1975), US$23,847 (1985), US$39,399 (1995), and US$43,986 (1999). Until the late 1990s, this development was largely through reliance on foreign direct investment (FDI), i.e., attracting subsidiaries of foreign multinational corporations. Government played a central role by providing incentives, training programs, and infrastructure.

Unlike the structure in terms of ownership of firms in Korea and Taiwan, where there is a large proportion of indigenous firms, there has been a situation in Singapore in recent years with about three-quarter of the manufacturing output coming from multinational corporations, and where more than 60 percent of equity in its manufacturing sector was foreign. In view of the somewhat recipient-oriented nature of these activities, the recent Singapore policy efforts have been aimed at increasing the innovation intensity of the activities located in Singapore. A challenge similar to Taiwan’s is to achieve balance between government guidance and independent entrepreneurial initiative.

Hong Kong was a Crown colony of Great Britain 1847–1997, and developed during the five decades leading up to 1997 into a newly industrialized economy as well as a trade hub between the People’s Republic of China and the world. Since 1997 Hong Kong has tried to diversify its role. Hong Kong’s production networks have started to become integrated into the Chinese mainland. In addition, Hong Kong was particularly hard hit by the Asian financial crisis. Recent policies regarding Hong Kong have included R&D-related investments and attempts at generating new technologies through public support, thereby trying to transform Hong Kong into an innovation hub with links to and from China.

Bibliography:

Lowell Dittmer, “The Asian Financial Crisis and the Asian Developmental State: Ten Years After,” Asian Survey (v.47/6, 2007);
Edquist and L. Hommen, eds., Small Country Innovation Systems: Globalization, Change and Policy in Asia and Europe (Cheltenham, 2008);
Groningen Growth and Development Centre and The Conference Board, Total Economy Database, Gross Domestic Product Per Capita in 1990 PPP US$; E. M. Kim, ed., The Four Asian Tigers: Economic Development and Global Political Economy (Academic Press, 1998);
Krugman, “The Myth of Asia’s Miracle,” Foreign Affairs (November/ December 1994);
Lall, Learning from the Asian Tigers: Studies in Technology and Industrial Policy (Palgrave Macmillan, 1997);
Hugh De Santis, “The Dragon and the Tigers—China and Asian Regionalism,” World Policy Journal (v.22/2, 2005).

This example Asian Tigers Essay is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.