This survey article examines the recent studies of technological change or total factor productivity (TFP) as a source of growth in East Asian economies. The major objective of the paper is to show that in the end the importance of technological change in economic growth depends largely on how TFP is defined and measured. The conclusions drawn by Alwyn Young and Paul Krugman are based too much upon the assumption that all technological change is TFP. Section II reviews the conceptual and empirical literature on this subject since the 1950s. Section III surveys the TFP studies of East Asian economies, with particular reference to the recent claims that TFP is generally insignificant. Section IV discusses the prospects for East Asian economic growth and dispels the pessimism of such authors as Young and Krugman.

No abstract

Hong Kong is one of Asia’s four newly industrializing economies (NIEs) which have experienced very rapid economic growth in the past 25 years. While all of them have experienced export-oriented industrialization, there have been significant differences among them from the start of their rapid economic growth and development. Over time, their differences have become even more pronounced. It is very often asserted that the Asian NIEs can be divided into two groups: the Republic of Korea and Taipei, China on the one hand, and Hong Kong and Singapore on the other. Yet, there are in fact significant differences between the Republic of Korea and Taipei, China, and even more so between Hong Kong and Singapore…