On Controversies over the East Asian Model

One of the hot issues that have aroused controversial ideas in the academic circle at home and abroad is whether there really exists an East Asian model of economic development. This article holds that the East Asian model is the essential element that has given rise to the economic growth in East Asia. Characteristics of East Asian model can be classified into economic, political and cultural ones. Each one is different from that of the Western counterpart. However, compared with Western models which are relatively more mature, the East Asian model is still underdeveloped. Trials of the financial crisis will yield a second generation of this model. The author cautions that this newly developed East Asian economic model should not be assessed by modern criteria of the Western models and that historical idealism should be abandoned.