SUBJECT 8: To what extent does the experience of the “Tiger” economies support, or present anomalies for the Dependency Theory, the Theories of the Developemental States and Neoliberalism.

Thanh Van NGUYEN

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The amazing success of the “Tiger” economies (including: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea) since the early 1960s has attracted attention throughout the world. In the 1990s, their growth rate doubled the high growth rate of Japan which has been the most famous economic miracle after the World War II (Chaudhary & Islam, 1995:1). The literature on the “Four Little Tigers” ( 亚 洲 四 小 龙 ) is tremendous. The “miracle” experience of these four East Asian economies, also named “gang of four” or more neutrally “ Newly Industrialising Economies”(NIEs) or Newly Industrialising Countries (NIC), has brought into question many economic theories, among them the Dependency Theory and the Development States and Neoliberalism. Even though each country had its own particularities, historically, geographically or politically speaking, they shared some common characteristics Being mainly agricultural, the East Asian Tigers’ authorities who were quite authoritarian at the beginning started a land reform, promoting property rights and putting into place agricultural subsidies and tariffs on agricultural products. The working people were relatively poor and provided cheap labor and largely took advantage of the developed countries relocations. Then the focus of governments on improving education system was significant to the development of the national industry (http://en.wikipedia.org). . Among the range of characteristics, we may quote: high tariffs on imports, undervalued currencies, and the high level of US Treasury bond holding as well as high saving rate. Moreover, in course of the time, when an economist uses the term “Tiger” , it is referring to export-oriented countries which have achieved their industrialisation (Chaudhary & Islam, 1993:16). It is true that