East Asia’s remarkably successful development model – a combination of outward-oriented growth, human capital development, and sound economic governance – needs to be adjusted to effectively address emerging external and internal challenges, a new World Bank report says.
The report argues that the tremendous progress seen in the region is not guaranteed in the future. The development model that spurred the so-called East Asian Miracle will have to adapt to changing technologies, slowing trade growth, and changing country circumstances, if progress is to be sustained.
It said, a half century ago, many countries in the region were poor agricultural economies, struggling to overcome legacies of conflict or central planning. Today, however, the region is bustling with economic activity—reflecting a mix of high- and middle-income economies that account collectively for nearly one-third of global GDP.
More than 90% of East Asia’s population now live in 10 middle-income countries–Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam–many of which can realistically aspire to high-income status in the next generation or two.
