ABSTRACT
The post-World War II economic development of the four East Asian economies of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong), Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Singapore, and South Korea has shown a distinctive pattern. A superficial review of these four East Asian economies reveals that they are not too different from others nearby in terms of their shortage of natural resources and ready availability of other resources, e.g. labor. Their economies are not particularly strong, but, on the other hand, military expenditure is low. However, at the end of World War II, the economy of the Philippines was considered to have more potential for growth than that of its neighbors in Asia.
