ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some views that challenge the conventional wisdom of the growth record and prospects of the high-performing East Asian economies. Many Asian regimes are making significant strides toward greater political decentralization in tandem with their economic liberalization. In adopting the logic, former socialist regimes hope to maintain their one-party rule as the vanguard for rapid economic growth. Political repression too often masquerades as political stability contributing to economic growth. Long-run economic prosperity is better served by the moderating influences of non-governmental organizations that evolve spontaneously under democracy. The rapid pace of change inherent in the emerging global economic order is therefore drastically reducing the effectiveness of authoritarian rule, especially as citizens develop greater economic autonomy. By the late 1970s, several seminal studies appeared which brought the high economic growth of East Asia to the attention of the world. In polls of expatriate managers, most of the East Asian economies ranked very low in terms of desirable labor attributes.
