ABSTRACT
Asia’s super exporters—Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Singapore, and Taiwan—have experienced remarkable transformations in their economies in the past two decades. With annual average rates of growth of real per capita income of 6.5, 6.9, 7.4, and 6.6 percent, respectively, over the period 1960 to 1978, the four were exceeded only by Japan, Iran, Romania, and Saudi Arabia (World Bank, 1980). Since these last three were all oil exporters, the growth performance of the “gang of four” is clearly all the more remarkable, as they maintained that growth in the 1970s despite sharply adverse movements in their terms of trade.[ 1 ]
