The Asian development model and its applicability to developing countries

Abstract

The topic of the article is the Asian development model, which was the foundation of the post‐war economic miracle of East Asian countries. First, the genesis and key assumptions of the model were described, broken down into two dimensions  ‐  cultural and economic. Then, drawing on the experiences of Japan, South Korea and China, the most important premises of the model which might be universally applied among developing countries were listed. The last supplement to the study was the observation about the decreasing benefits of technological catching‐up, which forces modifications of the model after exceeding a certain level of development. Finally, a method of formulating economic policy for developing countries with the use of Asian development model was proposed. The main conclusion of the article is the observation that at a level of development which does not exceed around 15 000 USD GDP per capita PPP it is possible to replicate the development path of East Asian countries. After passing this symbolic limit, the economic policy of the country should be adjusted to the current needs, taking into consideration the necessity to increase innovation and competitiveness of the economy by basing it more on services and highly developed sectors.