King Kong Meets Godzilla: The World Bank and The East Asian Miracle

The World Bank's The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy makes official what East Asian specialists had long known: most of the high-performing Asian economies have had extensive government intervention, and some of these interventions, in the areas of credit and exports, have worked in fostering both growth and equity. Nevertheless, the bank finds in the East Asian experience a confirmation of its `market-friendly' approach to policy. Upon closer look, some of the critical bits of analysis contained in the report turn out to be weak and questionable. Consequently, many of the report's conclusions and recommendations, relating to trade and industrial strategy in particular, have to be discounted heavily.