The four Asian Tigers, Asian Dragons and Asian Miracles are various terms used to refer to the highly developed economies of Hong Kong South Korea Singapore Taiwan

1. ECONOMIC LESSONS FROM
ASIAN TIGERS, JAPAN, EUROPE
AND AMERICA.

2. ECONOMIC LESSONS FROM ASIAN TIGERS,
JAPAN, EUROPE AND AMERICA.

4. The four Asian Tigers,
Asian Dragons and Asian
Miracles are various terms
used to refer to the highly
developed economies of
1) Hong Kong
2) South Korea
3) Singapore
4) Taiwan
INTRODUCTION

12. 1. The Asian Tigers were notable
for maintaining extremely
high growth rates and rapid
industrialization between the
early 1960s and 1990s. By the
21st century all four countries
developed into advanced and
high-income economies.
2. Hong Kong and Singapore have
become world-leading
international financial
centres, while South Korea and
Taiwan are world leaders in
manufacturing Information
Technology Equipment.
ECONOMIC HISTORY OF ASIAN TIGERS

13. 3. The ‘Tigers’ enjoyed decades
of super growth mainly due
to state industrial policies
which supported exports to
rich, industrialised nations.
Also, the Asian Tiger
governments imposed very
low interest rates for loans
to specific export industries,
making their economies
experience high growth rates
which were sustained for
decades.
ECONOMIC HISTORY OF ASIAN TIGERS
4. There were major government investments in education,
but the political systems were non-democratic and relatively
authoritarian during the early years of development.

14. ECONOMIC HISTORY OF ASIAN TIGERS
5. The Asian Tigers invested heavily in US bonds and they
(Asian Tigers) had high public and private savings rate.
6. There was however a period of liberalisation, but the first major
set-back experienced by the Asian Tigers’ economies was the
Asian Financial Crisis. While
Singapore and Taiwan were
relatively unaffected,
South Korea was affected by a
major stock market crash caused
by high levels of non-performing
loans. Whereas, Hong-Kong
underwent intense speculative attack against its stock
market and currency, leading to serious market
interventions by the nation’s monetary authorities.

15. ECONOMIC HISTORY OF ASIAN TIGERS
7. In spite of the financial crisis, the years after saw all the four
countries recovering strongly. South Korea, the worst hit of
the ‘tigers’, has managed to triple its per capita GDP in
dollar terms since 1997.
8. Abundance of cheap labour.(High Population).

16. Classwork
• Briefly narrate the economic
history of the Asian Tigers.

19. Assignment
• Give 10 differences between Developed
countries (ACs) and Developing countries
(LDCs). Give examples to support your point.

20. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES EMPLOYED
BY THE ASIAN TIGERS
The strategies adopted by the Asian Tigers to achieve growth
and development are:
1. Export-oriented policies and strong development policies:
To achieve economic prosperity, the Asian Tigers utilized
export-oriented policies which entails the speeding up of
the industrialization process of a country by exporting
goods for which the country has a comparative
advantage over others. They also embarked on solid
macroeconomic management.
2. Investment in physical and human capital development:
The Asian Tigers invested greatly in human and physical
capital. In fact, in 1960, this far exceeded investment levels
in other countries at similar levels of development. This
consequently led to a rapid growth in per capita income
levels.

22. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY
THE ASIAN TIGERS
3. Education: Education played a major role in the Asian
Miracle. It allowed for high levels of literacy and cognitive
skills in those countries. South Korea in particular, had achieved
a secondary education enrolment rate of 88% by 1987.
4. Creation of a stable macroeconomic environment: Sound
management of the macro-economy was very key to the Asian
Miracle. The Asian Tigers were able to manage, with a high level
of success, their macroeconomic environment. Specifically, they
managed their budget deficits( when estimated government
revenue is less than proposed expenditure), external debts and
exchange rates excellently to put their economies in sound states
of health and prevent them from falling into recession or other
destabilising conditions. Deficits were kept very low. External
debt was almost non-existent as Hong-kong, Singapore and
Taiwan failed to borrow from abroad. South Korea, however,
borrowed heavily but it was sustained by its high export levels.

24. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES EMPLOYED
BY THE ASIAN TIGERS
5. Exchange rates: The Asian Tigers actively managed their
exchange rates(it is the rate at which the domestic currency
is exchanged for the foreign currency) to avoid exchange
rate appreciation. This allowed their exports to be
relatively cheap and in high demand ( meaning if cost of
production is cheap, price of product will be cheap) .
6. The Culture of hard work and innovativeness: These were
strongly imbibed by the Asian Tigers.
7. Campaign against corruption: Corruption is the bane of
development. The Asian Tigers embarked on a massive
campaign to stamp out corruption from their individual
economies and made it successful by spelling out harsh
punishments especially for corruption-related criminal
offences, irrespective of the social or financial status of the
offenders.

25. Classwork
• List the factors that account for the rapid
development of the Tiger in South East Asia.

27. ASIAN TIGERS: LESSONS FOR THE NIGERIAN
ECONOMY
Many of the Asian Tiger strategies are a replica of Europe’s
and America’s strategies. Nigeria has the following lessons to
learn from the Asian Tigers
1. Nigeria’s export policy should focus on areas of
comparative advantage or preference e.g. agriculture.
Nigeria should increase its production and export of
products like cocoa and groundnut to increase her foreign
exchange earnings rather than depend solely on crude oil
earnings.
2. The Nigerian educational system should be stabilized
through policies that will end incessant school closures. It
should also be reformed to focus on skill acquisition rather
than mere certification.

29. ASIAN TIGERS: LESSONS FOR THE NIGERIAN
ECONOMY
3. A financial and banking system that favours savings and
encourages business growth should be pursued. Government
and private savings should be encouraged to improve future
investment which is necessary for development.
4. Proper and effective management of resources should be
embraced. Looting of the nation’s resources must be
discouraged and corruption addressed with zeal. No sacred
cows should be allowed.
5. A great number of domestic manufacturing industries making
use of locally sourced materials should be set up. This would
reduce the rate of dependence on imported products. Imports
should be generally discouraged to promote patronage of
locally-made goods and rapid development of local
manufacturing companies. This will improve employment and
arrest balance of payment problems.

31. ASIAN TIGERS: LESSONS FOR THE
NIGERIAN ECONOMY
6. Proper management of the macro-economic environment
especially the management of variables like public debts,
deficit and exchange rate.

32. Classwork
• What are the lessons, the Nigerian will need
to learn from the Tigers economies?

33. ASSIGNMENT
1. What do you understand by the term ‘‘Japanese
Miracle’’?
2. Discuss how the Japanese miracle aided the growth
of the economy from 1945 to 1970.
3. What are the problems facing small and medium
scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.