ABSTRACT
The economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), known collectively as Asia’s super exporters, or the gang of four, exhibit three common characteristics: rapid economic growth, spectacular expansion of exports, and substantial increases in the rates of saving and investment over the past two decades (Table 11.1). In all four countries, strong and stable governments set fast economic growth as a high priority (Little 1979, 466; Rabushka 1979, 56). In every case the objective was attained through the promotion of exports (Krueger, Chapter 8 of this book; Kuo 1983, 175-78; Kuo, Ranis, and Fei 1981, 73). However, implementation of this outward-looking growth strategy took a different form in each country. Hong Kong’s relatively laissez-faire approach, for example, contrasts sharply with the degree of government involvement and intervention in Taiwan and South Korea, while Singapore lies somewhere in between.
