East Asian Experience on Growth and Equity

Abstract

This article succinctly summarizes the growth experience of the four East Asian tiger economies (Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan) and three Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) states (Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand). The crisis of 1997-98 had come to pass and the economies have returned to growth but not at the same tempo as in the earlier times. Several of the economies have experienced significantly reduced levels of poverty and visible inequalities. The degree of income inequality (measured by the Gini coefficient), however, stays more or less constant, with the level being especially low in economies that have taken steps to keep it low.A number of lessons and implications can be drawn from the experience of East Asia. Examples are the importance of an investor friendly economic climate, an efficient public sector; explicit advocacy of family limitation; ensuring the building up of infrastructure ahead of time; and minimising visible inequality and inequalities in opportunities.

Inclusive Growth: Economics as if People Mattered

“…Earlier attempts to formalize the definition of inclusive growth construe it as a measure of a combination of the growth of national income and income inequality (Ali & Son, 2007; Anand, Mishra, & Peiris, 2013). In the context of East Asia, Kolluru and Rao (2011) explored the linkages between growth and inequality, whereas the Indian experience has been accounted by Anand, Tulin and Kumar (2014). Although this approach is helpful in bringing together the two strands of poverty-inequality analysis and growth literature, it fails to capture the broader nature of the widely accepted connotations regarding inclusive growth.…”

Testing Sigma and Unconditional Beta Convergence of GDP for SAARC Countries: Can Inclusion of China further Consolidate the Convergence?

“…Some studies have been carried out to test convergence of the GDP of the countries in any regional block. Kolluru and Rao (2012) have examined the growth experience of the four East Asian economies, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, and three members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The study found that many economies have experienced reduction in the levels of poverty and inequalities.…”