Accumulation, exports and growth in high-performing Asian economies

Potential sources of the very rapid growth in per capita income in a number of Asian countries are considered using cross-country regressions. While unusual investment ratios and initial levels of education both play a role, the superior performance is not totally explained by these variables. A growing body of microeconomic evidence suggests that the growth of manufactured exports may have allowed the industrial sector in these countries to increase its productivity. The cross-country regressions show that part of the rapid growth of per capita income in these countries is attributable to their unusual export performance. Even after incorporating this effect, their per capita income growth remains somewhat greater than predicted