ABSTRACT
Improving economies by raising GDP has been the primary focus of development efforts since the end of the Second World War. Southeast Asia, as a region, is generally portrayed as being particularly successful in this regard, having moved beyond the primary industries it inherited from the colonial period to much more diversified economies that incorporate strong manufacturing and tertiary sectors. In the 1990s, for example, books were written with titles like The Southeast Asian Economic Miracle in which it was argued:
A 1993 World Bank report entitled The East Asian Miracle was similarly enthusiastic, attempting to identify the underlying causes of East Asian economic success and translate these as lessons for other developing economies (World Bank 1993). Not surprisingly, given the
authoring institution’s economic orientation, the report identified neo-liberal principles as the drivers of success, something that has became a source of much debate, as will be examined further in this chapter.
