Substituting and Complementing Models of Economic Development in East Asia

This paper assesses the relative merits and demerits of different East Asian models by placing them in a historical perspective. It re-interprets Gerschenkron's model of late industrialization, and extends it to compare East Asian economies in view of substituting and complementing models. It then explains divergent performances among East Asian economies from the late 1990s by examining the different challenges they faced as their economies became mature and more fully open to forces of globalization. In conclusion, the paper discusses the applicability of the East Asian models for today's developing countries.