UC Santa Barbara

All developing countries have been "looking East" since the rise of the Asian tigers, especially South Korea and Taiwan. The designation of the Southeast Asian economies as "tiger cubs" implies the question: can would-be tigers become tigers? Against the background of both oriental globalisation and China's effect on the region, this article compares trends in Northeast and Southeast Asia in agriculture, industry and services. State and political institutions are part of the comparison. As the conclusion notes, the new imperative for sustainable and inclusive growth excludes simply retracing the tigers development path: political change, in both national and regional institutions, is needed for the reforms in land, fiscal and industrial policy that will permit Southeast Asia to escape the middle-income trap.