Industrial Development in Singapore,Taiwan,and South Korea FROM THE PUBLISHER
Economic analysis of the industrial experiences of the newly industrialized economies in Asia is generally lacking in the literature. This study attempts to fill that void by providing an in-depth discussion on the economic impact of the industrial policies of Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea in the three-and-a-half decades after 1960.
Throughout the study, a broad perspective of macroeconomic development is maintained. It is highly critical of the narrow-minded objective of certain governments in maximizing the pace of industrialization at the expense of general economic well-being.
A comparative analysis of the industrial experiences of the three economies also shows a diversity of constraints and processes. Singapore relied on multinational corporations, Taiwan on returned engineers, and South Korea on chaebols. There appears to be no Asian formula for industrialization.
In Hong Kong, there is an ongoing debate on whether some form of industrial policy should be introduced, in view of the perception that Hong Kong is lagging behind the other economies in terms of technology. Drawing on the experiences of the other economies, the concluding chapter of the book provides an informed and balanced answer to this question.
SYNOPSIS
A comparative study of the economies of the three economies most often compared to Hong Kong, conducted by four Hong Kong economists with an eye towards offering lessons for the island economy. Beginning the studies in the early 1960s, the start of heavy industrialization in the countries, they come to a number of conclusions. Singapore's reliance on attracting foreign direct investment is found to be very different from the other countries, but deemed to be successful in building a technological industrial base. Taiwan and Korea, on the other hand, focused on promoting and developing domestic industries in high-technology sectors. While they have had some successes, Taiwan's promotion of its automobile industry has been a failure because Taiwan's economy doesn't support the economy of scale required by automobiles, and Koreàs encouragement of heavy industries comes at the expense of a slowdown of the development of the light industries and agriculture. Finally a number of recommendations are made for the Hong Kong economy, in light of the lessons learned from the other three countries. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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