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 Letters to the Editor
climate of stability and subsidizing and more
complex explanations. My hypoth
coordinating private investment decisions. esis is that the tigers' growth has been
We do not fully understand why East driven by inputs. Part of the point behind
Asia's interventionist approach did not "TheMyth of Asia's Miracle" is the prin
lead to the often disastrous results that ciple of Occam's razor, which holds that

many other developing countries with one should use the of

simplest competing
similar policies have had. But the argu to the unknown. It is
explanations explain
ment that government a lot to amatter
policy had also, however, of self-discipline:
do with the East Asian "miracle"of input precisely because sweeping hypotheses
growth
cannot be dismissed so
easily. about policy or culture are more fiin to
DANI RODRIK talk about than drab accounting exercises,
and International one needs to make a to
Professor ofEconomics special effort give
Affairs, Columbia University boring explanations their due.
And the surprising thing about Asian
mything my point
growth is just how much the boring
Paul Krugman approaches explain. While several let
replies:
I am glad to see that "TheMyth of tersmention theWorld Bank study,
Asia's Miracle" stirred up so much reaction, which found somewhat more evidence
even if some readers took offense at my of efficiency growth in East Asia than
deliberately provocative style. After all, did the work of Alwyn Young or of
my main purpose inwriting the article was Lawrence Lau and Jong-Il Kim, even
to shake up what I feared was a that study does
not
remotely support the
becoming
closed circle of intellectual complacency almost universally held view that the
whose went as follows: "We know Asian nations are
logic newly industrializing
that Asian-style work because onWestern levels of
policies rapidly converging
of the rapid growth those economies Consider Ishrat Husain's use
efficiency.
have achieved, and we know that this ful letter, in which he compares "catch
in as measured in total
rapid growth will continue because those up" efficiency
economies are
following the right policies." factor productivity. Which do you find
the same more theWorld Bank's
Many people said thing about surprising:
central planning and Soviet growth circa finding that Hong Kong, Taiwan, and
i960. One need not believe thatAsia will Thailand have experienced
some catch

recapitulate the whole sad Soviet story up, or the finding that South Korea "was
to find that a useful caution. essentially just keeping pace" and that
Let me make three points on the sub Indonesia, and Singapore
Malaysia,
stance of the argument. First, many corre have actually fallen behind?
aminimalist
spondents complained that the "growth Given how much story of
accounting" framework is too simplistic. input-driven growth?that is, increased
it is always a good strat on
Surely, however, expenditure capital goods and labor?
one should
egy to approach any issue by seeing how explains about Asian growth,
one can aminimalist
much explain with be cautious about attributing long lists of
then should one turn to additional virtues to the Asian economies.
hypothesis; only

FOREIGN AFFAIRS Volume74No.2

[176]
 Letters to theEditor
Frank Gibney writes of the "interlocking

cooperation of free enterprise,

govern
ment financial intervention, and a guid
ance-minded technocratic bureaucracy" S CaU
as a
key strength of Asian economies
"that the managers of developed Western
economies have yet to learn." But even the
for any
World Bank's numbers find no evidence of
onWestern
convergence levels of efficiency
.book
in many developing Asian countries?
Immediate shipment
and, in particular, show little evidence worldwide
of convergence in South Korea, which
as the Asian Amex, MasterCard, Visa
Gibney regards quintessential or check
model. (It will, by the way, be news to
many people, not least Lee Kuan Yew,
All books in print
that Singapore is a straw man whose available
expe
rience offers no lessons about Asian devel Ask about our overnight
opment.) On what basis, then, does Gibney gift delivery nationwide
assert that this system of "interlocking
Gift wrapping available
cooperation" is such a good thing?
Westerners believe that Asian Mail orders welcome
Many
economic carries obvious lessons
growth Open 24 hours every day
for our own societies. Strangely, however,
the content of those lessons lies in the

eye of the beholder. To free marketeers, 1*80M55'2665

Asia shows the power of the free market; InCT orWorldwide
to industrial
policy advocates, it shows (203) 966-5470
the effectiveness of industrial to FAX 1-203-966-4329
policy; e-mail: info@bookcall.connix.com
the authority-minded, it shows the virtues
of authoritarianism. Personally, I do not
find any of these lessons obvious. The

only overwhelming lesson I see in Asian

growth is that one way to get a lot of

output is to use a lot of

inputs.
Paul Krugman isProfessor
ofEconomics, 59 Elm Street
New Canaan, CT 06840
Stanford University

(issn 00157120), March/April 1995, Volume 74, Number 2. Published six times
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March/April i995 l177]