Growth Accounting, Growth Theory and the East Asian Miracle

This paper develops a method for interpreting growth accounting studies in terms of the neoclassical growth model. In particular it shows that the growth accounting contribution of capital reflects the distance of the economy from its steady state income level. The method is applied to studies of the East Asian economies by Young (1995) and Collins and Bosworth (1996). Contrary to the usual interpretation of these data, it is shown that the data support the argument made by King and Rebelo (1993). Transitional dynamics explain only a small fraction of growth in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea