The Anatomy of the Asian Take-off

This paper discusses the literature on sources and causes of growth among the Asian high growth performers since World War II (WWII). It is argued that the factor accumulation hypothesis cannot be used to explain the Asian growth miracle but that growth has been driven predominantly by R D, the demographic transition and knowledge transfer from the developed countries. Furthermore, it is argued that due to scale effects in the ideas production function, the Asian high-growth economies are likely to grow at high rates in the future.