East Asian Economic Growth and Crisis Some Lessons

Abstract

East and Southeast Asian successful economies such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, and  Indonesia were considered “miracle economies” by many economists and scholars due to their rapid economic growth in the 1960s,  1970s, and 1980s, up until the 1997 East Asian financial crisis. Even though some economists predicted a gradual decline in  competitiveness and growth in this region before the 1997 financial crisis, no one anticipated such a sudden and serious economic and financial crisis. Several scholars predicted that East Asia needed many years to be fully recovered. However, the East Asian economic  recovery was also quick and impressive. East Asian economies started to grow again within a few years after the massive financial  crisis they experienced. As scholars had opposing views about East Asian economic growth and as well as crisis, they were also divided  on what factors propelled East Asia‟s quick recovery. The research aims to answer a few questions: first, how do East Asian countries  achieve rapid economic growth? What are the causes of the East Asian economic crisis? What factors facilitate rapid economic  recoveries in East Asian countries? Moreover, the study discusses the lessons other developing countries can learn from East Asian  economic growth, crises, and rapid economic recovery.