Financing Technological Upgrading in East Asia

Abstract

There has been considerable discussion on the drivers of economic growth in East Asia. While most studies recognize that capital accumulation and macroeconomic management were critical in hastening growth, few have examined systematically and comparatively how policy frameworks – spearheaded through selective interventions – stimulated technical progress and the different performance outcomes achieved by these countries. This article attempts to address the gap by systematically analyzing the investment regimes, sources of finance, technological upgrading and policy frameworks of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand with a view to explaining their economic growth performance.