On balance, the Southeast Asian countries have done better than Latin American countries by pursuing export-led industrial strategies, however, unlike the Tigers, neither group has been able to enter the ranks of high-income countries. This note offers reasons for the shortfall in growth and briefly...

The importance of semiconductors to the functioning of so many activities was brought home when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted production and trade. The shortage of semiconductors forced a cutback in the output of vehicles, consumer durables, and electronic equipment of all kinds, inflicting heavy ...

Simon Kuznets’ pathbreaking study of modern economic growth was published in 1966.[1] In it and in preceding monographs he identified the salient characteristics of economic change based on data from national accounts, the construction of which he pioneered.

The East Asian export-led development model has served as a beacon for decades. For the many urbanized and rapidly urbanizing countries, the East Asian experience with and response to emerging challenges can be equally instructive. High-income East Asian economies are at or approaching peak urbaniza...

The worldwide shock inflicted by COVID-19 had the making of a “perfect crisis:” the kind that should not be wasted. Indeed, it could serve as an opportunity to initiate major reforms. Unfortunately, Pakistan, like virtually all other countries, has permitted the opportunity to go waste. Pakistan may...

From the final decade of the twentieth century, four small economies were quick to capitalize on the developmental advantages conffered by globalization. Although they did not escape buffeting from periodic regional and international crises, Dubai, Ireland, Panama, and Singapore managed to sustain m...

Unprecedented heat waves and wildfires in 2021 are a warning of worse to come and a signal that the tempo of climate change may be quickening. A warmer planet subject to frequent and destructive severe weather events will be less livable, the productivity of economic activities will suffer, and high...

Vietnam’s development since the early 1990s has given new life to the East Asian export-led growth model. For late starting economies, Vietnam’s experience provides valuable lessons not only on the policy initiatives that can deliver positive results, but also on the inevitable and the potentia...