Trade liberalization and productivity growth in Asia: introduction and major findings

Despite the fact that import-substitution policies adopted shortly after WWII, proved to be a stumbling block to economic development, few countries abandoned these policies. Several that did were in East Asia and included Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore. These countries turned to export-promotion policies during the 1950s and 1960s. Export-promotion policies were chosen as they were thought to provide greater market opportunities overseas. These policies turned out to be a success, and the four countries achieved rapid export expansion, which in turn led to rapid economic growth. Their economic success prompted several countries in ASEAN to shift their trade policies from import substitution to export promotion. The success of these East Asian countries is attributable not only to their trade policies, but also other factors such as effective macroeconomic policies and human resource development policies. -from Author