Newly Industrializing Countries (NIC) Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

The term newly industrializing countries (NICs) was used to describe a number of developing countries that experienced significant levels of economic development during the 1970s and 1980s. The key indicators that were often used to characterize the NICs included high rates of economic growth, rapid industrialization, and the expansion of exports in manufactured goods. The NICs became significant case studies in wider debates about the theory and practice of development. The question of which countries should be classified as NICs is not unambiguous, but the term has become most readily associated with the four “tiger” countries/territories in East Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. They managed to achieve high levels of economic growth and low inflation combined with significant progress in adult literacy rates and life expectancy.

Two distinct positions developed in the debate over the interpretation of why the East Asian NICs were able to achieve such spectacular levels of development. First, there was the neoliberal view, which tended to focus on the efficient allocation of resources and the export-led nature of those NICs’ development strategies. This view sought to portray the NICs as supporting evidence for the types of development policies being promoted during the 1980s by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The NICs were contrasted with many other developing countries that had followed the logic of dependency theory by protecting themselves from the international economy and following import substitution industrialization policies.

The second debate position is often termed the “developmental state” view. In contrast to neoliberalism, this view highlighted the political factors at play and in particular the key role played by the state in the economic development of the NICs. Most of these countries were led by authoritarian governments that were involved directly in promoting the specific sectors of the economy selected for exports. The state invested heavily in education, training, transport, and communications. Trade protectionism and subsidies were also used to support the growth of exports.

Another issue that was debated in response to the rise of the East Asian NICs was the idea of “Asian values.” Some scholars suggested that the NICs’ success was chiefly the result of specific cultural factors. In particular, these scholars focused on Confucianism and how it encourages cooperative and consensual business relationships. This would make the achievements of the East Asian NICs hard to translate into a generalizable development model.

One of the problems with discussing the East Asian NICs as a group is that the diversity of their individual situations is lost. Hong Kong and Singapore, being small city-states, were able to follow more classic free market policies than South Korea and Taiwan followed; in these latter two, the state played a significant role, especially in land reform before the period of rapid industrialization. The external environment and historical specificities should also be acknowledged. In particular, the United States provided significant aid and access to its market as part of its broadened geopolitical interests during the cold war. The East Asian NICs can now be classed as “developed” with reference to any number of different indicators. However, the term has been replaced by other labels such as “emerging economies,” which is often used to describe other developing countries that are currently experiencing significant economic development.

Bibliography:

Balassa, Bela A. The Newly Industrializing Countries in the World Economy. New York: Pergamon Press, 1981.
Haggard, Stephan. Pathways from the Periphery: The Politics of Growth in the Newly Industrializing Countries. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1990.
Wade, Robert. “East Asia’s Economic Success: Conflicting Perspectives, Partial Insights, Shaky Evidence.” World Politics 44 (1992): 270–320.
World Bank. The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.

This example Newly Industrializing Countries (NIC) 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.