Page 76 - AEI Insights 2019 - Vol. 5, Issue 1

AEI Insights, Vol 5, Issue 1, 2019

For example, the author touches the political constraints that Taiwan faces in establishing trade
agreements without a deeper examination of the security impact of its relation between China
and the United States. The author also discusses South Korea’s effort to leverage FTAs in order
to strengthen its diplomatic relations, but the author stops short in the examination of why this
is important for South Korea. Although it is understandable that the book focuses on the
economic development of Taiwan and South Korea, more casual readers are less likely to
understand the larger dynamics of intersecting factors that shape the economic environment of
both countries.

Conclusion
This is certainly a book that students of East Asian development would benefit from. Its dense
data comparison of Taiwan and South Korea provides readers with a comprehensive look at
how both economies have changed since the late 1990s and it raises some interesting questions
about how the government of both countries can rise to the challenge. More importantly, for
Malaysian readers, this book provides some really important lessons for this country’s own
development.

Malaysia’s own shrinking manufacturing sector relative to its service sector could face a similar
need for better value-added upgrading. As China continues to grow, Taiwan and South Korea’s
southward pivot would also mean greater trade engagement with ASEAN countries which
Malaysia, as one of the more developed ASEAN country, can strategically take advantage of.
Overall, the book places itself well within the continuing discourse of the Asian economic
development experience.

References

Amsden, A.H. (1989). Asia’s Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Asian Development Bank (ADB). (2011). Asia 2050: Realizing the Asian Century. Manila:
Asian Development Bank.
Chiang, M. (2018). Post-industrial development in East Asia: Taiwan and South Korea in
comparison. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.
International Monetary Fund (IMF). (2006). World Economic Outlook: Financial Systems
and Economic Cycles. Washington D.C.: International Monetary Fund.
Johnson, C. (1982). MITI and the Japanese miracle. Stanford, California: Stanford University
Press.
Wade, R. (1990). Governing the Market: Economic Theory and the Role of Government in
East Asian Industrialization. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton University Press.
World Bank. (1993). The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy. New
York: Oxford University Press

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