ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 discusses the growth strategy used by Malaysia. Some have suggested that Malaysia’s strong economic performance since independence was due to good policy, good luck, and pragmatism. The literature suggests that it was not good luck but rather good policy that made the difference between Malaysia’s economic performance and Ghana’s poor performance. Malaysia benefited from the stability that came from having one strong party being in power or part of the ruling coalition since independence. As a result, there was continuity in development planning. Malaysia also established institutions that enabled it to mobilize domestic resources - labor and savings for rapid growth. There is the suggestion that Malaysia’s rapid growth is due more to the mobilization of resources and less to the adoption of new technology. This makes Malaysia’s model even more relevant to the countries that are going through the process of economic development.
