Miracles with a system : the economic rise of East Asia and the role of sociocultural patterns

Abstract

The economic rise of a number of East Asian countries, notably the `four little tigers' - Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan - has been addressed by various approaches. They have attributed the successful development to a variety of factors, e.g. economic, political-institutional and cultural ones. The article seeks to synthesize these various approaches and to demonstrate how they complement one another. The development of the tiger countries must be seen against the backdrop of a historically specific world-economic and geopolitical situation. Domestic structures and cultural factors served as catalysts, which enabled the tiger countries to seize upon the opportunities of development.