Transcript Japan and the Four Little Dragons: Taiwan, Singapore

Japan and the Four Little Dragons:
Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea &
Hong Kong
In Search of an East Asian
Development Model
Japan and the Four Little Dragons: Taiwan,
Singapore, South Korea & Hong Kong
 The economic success of Japan and the four little dragons have contributed
to the speculation of the existence of an East Asian development model.
 The relevance of the East Asian development experience to still developing
nations depends largely on whether an identifiable economic model
underlies and largely explains the economic success of the five nations of
East Asia - Japan Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong.
 There are two dominant views to this.
 The first view suggests that East Asian success is based largely on socio-cultural
values and institutions.
 While the other view supports the notion that their economic success is due
largely to their economic strategy.
 The aforementioned nations have several key economic features in
common, including: high growth rates which have been sustained over
many years, the occurrence of diminishing income inequality, improvement
in material standards of living for the entire population, a highly active
governmental role in shaping the development process, an underdeveloped
welfare state, low tax rates and high savings rates, and an economy
geared towards exports.
 These economic features do not operate in isolation, instead they are
linked to distinctive social and cultural features that are part of the East
Asian model, but what remains unclear is the extent to which the economic
and socio-cultural features are causally linked.
 Although it is reasonable to classify the East Asian countries as a single
category economically, with Japan leading by example; it is nearly
impossible do so in regards to their individual political systems.
 Today, Japan is a firmly institutionalized democracy, while both South Korea
and Taiwan are partially democratic and partially authoritarian systems.
While Singapore and Hong Kong share a history of British colonization;
Singapore now has a parliamentary system with regular elections, while
Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 1
July 1997. It is now subject to a "one country, two systems" formula in
which China’s socialist economic system will not be practiced in Hong Kong,
and the territory will continue to enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all
matters except foreign and defense affairs.
 Despite some of these recognized differences, there are valid reasons for
treating the East Asian nations as a common category, as all five share an
export-led growth pattern, strong governmental policy making, and
Confucian cultural traditions.
 In the past, most scholarly study has focused on the “Western” model of
development and its capitalist characteristics.
 This presentation will attempt to bridge this gap by determining whether or
not there is an East Asian development model, and the extent to which
socio-cultural factors rooted in Confucian ethics are causal links in
economic development.
In search of an East Asian
Development Model
 As noted in the Huntington text, Weber treats the process of development
as though it were an obstacle course for developing nations, in which the
starting point is one of traditionalism and the ultimate objective is that of
modernization, describing it as a transition from the authentic to the
deformed.[223]
 For Weber, a religion that was not sympathetic or supportive of the
development of capitalist traits was considered a hurdle or barricade to the
ultimate goal of modernization.
 It was thought that Asian values - such as frugality, family, loyalty, and a
culturally expected avoidance of attaining personal wealth - would not be
supportive of new technologies and risky business ventures, and would
ultimately fail to generate a sufficient amount of capital and resources that
would be needed to produce the kind of economic growth that is typical of
a Western capitalist system.
“Are there cultural or religious-ethical roots
of modern Asian capitalism?”
 It can be plausibly argued that in East Asian nations today, even the most
modernized sectors continue to adhere to values of collective solidarity and
discipline, and have achieved great economic success despite the
presumed barrier these values were to provide.
 This in turn raises the questions,
 “Are there cultural or religious-ethical roots of modern Asian capitalism?”
 Has East Asia successfully generated a non-individualistic version of capitalist
modernity?
“Asian Values”
 To begin with, Confucianism while possessing a core set of values has been
practiced in different ways throughout East Asia.
 The core values include: “a strong emphasis on education, orderliness,
achieved through tightly structured social relations based on the family
model; and perseverance and diligence in undertaking matters involving
one’s work, family, or social obligations.” [106, Tai]
 Adherence to this Confucian ethic is thought to produce a member of
society that is hardworking, responsible, skillful, ambitious (within
understood limits) and creative in helping the group, be it family, the
community or company.
 Confucian societies have their varieties.
Japanese Confucian Ethic
 Japan for instance, is in some ways the most formal and hierarchical
modern society, and has retained a great many of its traditional customs.
 The nation’s selective adaptation of Confucianism has provided her with:
strong and responsible leadership, well-defined goals and persistence, a
strong national group consciousness and solidarity, and a strong stable
political system.
The Japanese Worker
 Japanese workers are industrious, willing to work overtime and typically
work longer than 48-hour weeks. They are well educated and highly
skilled; and thus provide an ample supply of efficient and skilled labour.
 Loyalty of employees has greatly contributed to the ability of companies to
adapt and adjust management policies in the face of changing business
conditions.
 This loyalty is accompanied by the guarantee of lifetime employment in
Japanese corporations.
 When a worker is employed for life, wages are not adjusted to reflect levels of
individual productivity; instead they are based on total years of service.
 The incentive for capable workers is instead a system of bonuses and vertical
movement, in order to ensure lower rates of labour mobility.
South Korean Confucian Ethic
 In the case of South Korea, its long historical ties with China have
contributed to the persistence of Confucianism in all phases of the country’s
social life, and initially behaved as a impediment to economic development
as it had entrenched values that shunned the accumulation of wealth, deemphasized innovation and technology, and undervalued work, especially
manual labour.
 Therefore one of the conditions affecting economic performance is the
people’s attitude towards work.
 Korea’s idealization of the cultured man, made it difficult to create
conditions that would foster economic development.
Throwing the hurdle from the track
 Many things have caused the change in Korea’s social outlook.
 First of all, Japanese rule dispelled of the traditional institutions that were
inhibiting economic progress, and in turn, modeled much of the Korean
government on its own modernized system; establishing market-oriented
economic institutions, effective enforcement of law and order, and provision
of essential public services.
 In this sense Japanese colonization provided some of the impetus for
economic development sooner than that which would be achieved if the
reforms had not occurred.
South Korean Confucian Success
 It was then that South Korea’s most prized Confucian ethic was employed the emphasis on learning and education, as it would provide a skilled work
force for the economy.
 The other feature that has faired well for South Korea is the high prestige
and respect that is attached to governmental positions.
 This association has enabled the government to recruit highly qualified
personnel for public services, and has proved useful in achieving societal
acceptance of government led economic policies and initiatives in the
modernization process.
Singapore Confucian Ethic
 In the experience of Singapore, the government sought to use the
Confucian ethic to encourage popular support for economic policies and
change.
 The adoption of this strategy resulted from the release of two government
reports in the 1980s on worker’s attitudes. Findings revealed that many
employees were lacking in loyalty and the proper spirit; job-hopping,
reluctance to do shift-work, and adherence to narrow job specifications
were noted. [214 Bellows]
esprit de corps
 To curtail these negative attitudes the government reverently called for
Singaporeans to develop a group orientation in its national culture, stating
that “we can build up this team spirit...where every individual gives of his
best for the team. The team in turn, takes care of the individual, fairly and
equitably. The art of the of the government is the art of building up this
team spirit.”
 The Singapore experience is demonstrative of the emergence of a national
ethos that was to serve as a method of binding the population, and thus
stabilizing the society during a period of rapid modernization and
accompanying social and economic changes.
East Asian Values
and Economic Development
 Economic progress is a product of a combination of factors including hard
work, discipline, and governmental guidance and market forces.
 East Asians are similar to people of other modernizing nations as they are
permeated with Western capitalist values, such as individualism,
materialism and self-gratification.
 It would be false to say that these values did not materialize at all in East
Asia, instead the national governments have sought to curtail their
evolution by encouraging subscription to the “neo-Confucian spirit.”
 This philosophy emphasizes hierarchy, order, reciprocity, loyalty and rule by the
ablest and most virtuous.”
 It is through adherence to these principles, that East Asian governments
believe their societies will remain courteous, industrious, family oriented
and patriotic, and thus would allow for continued economic success and a
population that would be receptive to change.[214-215, Bellows]
Looking to the Future
 In modern times, East Asian nations have adhered closely to the following
economic principle: “encourage themselves to produce and encourage
others to consume.” [24, Tai]
 The following common factors serve as partial explanation for the fast
growth rate and responses of East Asian nations:
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the high rate of capital accumulation
the high saving ratio
transfer to technology in agriculture and industrialization
highly qualified human resources with declining fertility rate
virtuous circles of export-led growth in the open economies
the locomotive roles of the United States and Japan
relatively sound fiscal and monetary policies
tolerable distribution of income
fairly reliable public and private institutions
infrequency of social unrest and political instability
Is There an East Asian Development Model?
 In answering the question as to whether or not the lessons of East Asian
economic development can be applied to other still developing nations;
 There are three major elements affecting economic performance that may
not be easily reproduced elsewhere: “societies and elites under pressure to
perform, a relatively egalitarian distribution of wealth, and a set of cultural
attributes that were favourable for economic development.” [77, Berger]
 The economic strategy that was adopted is transferable, however there can
be no guarantees that same levels of economic success can be achieved
without its accompanying value system.
In Conclusion
 It is the adoption of a government led export-oriented economic strategy
conducted within a society indoctrinated in varieties of Confucian ethic, that
have facilitated and accounted for the rapid economic growth and
modernization demonstrated by Japan and the Four Little Dragons.
Bibliography
Berger, Peter L., and Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao, eds., In Search of an East Asian
Economic Development Model (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Inc., 1988).
Davis, Winston, “Religion and Development: Weber and the East Asian Experience,” in
Understanding Political Development, eds. Myron Weiner and Samuel P. Huntington
(Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, 1987), 221-281.
Glazer, Nathan, “Two Cheers for ‘Asian Values’,” The National Interest 57 (Fall 1999), 2734.
Ichimura, Shinichi, Political Economy of Japanese and Asian Development (Kitakyushum,
Fukuoka: Springer-Verlag Tokyo, 1998).
Tai, Hung-chao, ed., Confucianism and Economic Development:
An Oriental
Alternative?,” (Washington, D.C.: The Washington Institute Press, 1989).