Economy of East Asia
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The economy of East Asia is one of the most successful regional economies of the world.[1] It is home of the world's second and third largest economies : China and Japan.
Major positive factors have ranged from favorable political-legal environments for industry and commerce, through abundant natural resources of various kinds, to plentiful supplies of relatively low-cost, skilled and adaptable labor.
In modern societies, a high level of structural differentiation, functional specialization, and autonomy of the economic system from government is a major contributor to industrial-commercial growth and prosperity. Currently in the Far East, trading systems are relatively open; and zero or low duties on imports of consumer and capital goods etc. have considerably helped stimulate cost-efficiency and change.
Free and flexible labor and other markets are other important factors making for high levels of business-economic performance.
East Asian populations have demonstrated rapid learning capabilities – skills in utilizing new technologies and scientific discoveries – and putting them to good use in production. Work ethics in general tend to be highly positive.
Finally, there are relatively large and fast-growing markets for consumer goods and services of all kinds.
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[edit] Definition
Various organizations and disciplines define "East Asia" in different ways. The United Nations classifies South-east Asia (the 10 ASEAN members plus East Timor) as a distinct region, but other sources add North-east and South-east Asia together, which is the practice in this article.
The economic entities of East Asia are thus Japan; the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea; the Republic of (South) Korea; the People's Republic of China and its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau; Taiwan; and the 10 ASEAN members: the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Indonesia. The lack of useful statistical data makes including East Timor problematic, and so unless otherwise indicated, it will be omitted.
[edit] Theory
A 1997 Asian Development Bank (ADB) study [2] identifies three conventional theories as to how and why Asia developed so much faster than other regions. The classical theory identifies outward orientation and relatively strong property rights protection as key ingredients, as well as access to good ports and major markets. The neoclassical theory emphasizes rapid capital accumulation and the opportunity for high returns on investment that shortages presented. The third, endogenous growth theory credits superior economic institutions such as lifetime employment and consensus building as the superior attributes of the Asian culture. The study then notes that none of these theories attaches sufficient importance to demography, particularly changes in age structure, dependency ratios and overall population growth rates. This, according to the authors, is where much of the explanation lies.
[edit]
| Region | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Asia (15 economies) | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| East Europe (7 economies) | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
| Africa (57 economies) | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.2 |
| Latin America & Caribbean (47 economies) | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 9.8 | 8.3 | 8.4 |
| East Asia (10 economies) | 10.4 | 12.6 | 15.2 | 17.5 | 22.5 | 26.5 |
| Rest of the World | 64.4 | 61.9 | 58.5 | 53.3 | 50.7 | 45.4 |
[edit] Policy
Among the major policy choices commonly adopted in East Asia, and noticeably less so elsewhere in the developing world are openness to foreign trade, significant levels of government savings and an emphasis on education for both boys and girls. While these attributes were far from universally applied, they are conspicuously present in the region to a much larger degree than is the case elsewhere. [4]
[edit] Population
[5] In 2005, East Asia had more than one-third of the world’s population, an estimated 2,075 million people. Growth during the decade is expected to 0.79% per annum, pushing the total to 2,154 million by 2010. South-east Asia is expected to grow more than twice as fast (1.32% p.a.) as North-east Asia (0.60% p.a.). 65.5% of the population is working age (15-59), slightly higher than the global average 61.4%.
The North-east / South-east divide holds for other demographic indicators, too. The average age in the North-east was 33.1 years in 2005, and 26 years in South-east Asia. Life expectancy (74.1 years vs. 70) is not as distinctly different, although infant mortality rates differ by nearly a third: 21.8 per 1,000 in North-east Asia vs. 28.3 in South-east Asia.
| Region | Infant mortality ratio (per 1,000 live births) [6] |
|---|---|
| Africa | 82.6 |
| South-Central Asia | 56.3 |
| South-East Asia | 28.3 |
| Western Asia | 29.9 |
| South America | 21.4 |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 21.8 |
| Eastern Asia | 21.8 |
| Europe | 7.2 |
| North America | 5.8 |
[edit] See also
- Economies
- Economy of the People's Republic of China
- Economy of Taiwan
- Economy of Macau
- Economy of Hong Kong
- Economy of South Korea
- Economy of Japan
- Economy of Singapore
- Economic integration
- Free trade area
- Common currency
- Asian Currency Unit
- Monetary regime
- Asian Bond Markets
- Intra Regional Trade
- Japanese post-war economic miracle
- Taiwan Miracle
- Miracle on the Han (South Korea)
- Heavy-Chemical Industry Drive (South Korea)
- 1997 Asian Financial Crisis
- Economy of Asia
- Four Asian Tigers
- Related organizations
- East Asia Summit
- East Asian Community
- Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations
- ASEAN Plus Three
- Chiang Mai Initiative
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
- Asian Development Bank
[edit] Notes
- ^ ^ "Industry and Enterprise Development in the Far East", in Industry and Enterprise: An International Survey of Modernization and Development, ISR Publications/Google Books, 2nd edition, 2003. ISBN 978-0-906321-27-0. [1]
- ^ Emerging Asia: Changes and Challenges, ADB 1997 ISBN 971-561-105-2.
- ^ http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/Historical_Statistics/horizontal-file_03-2007.xls
- ^ Emerging Asia: Changes and Challenges, pp. 68-69. ADB 1997 ISBN 971-561-105-2.
- ^ UN World Population Prospects 2008, http://esa.un.org/unpp/
- ^ UN World Population Prospects 2008, http://esa.un.org/unpp/
