Human Capital, Trade and Public Policy in Rapidly Growing Economies

From Theory to Empirics

Academia Studies in Asian Economies series

Edited by Michele Boldrin, Washington University, St. Louis, US, Been-Lon Chen, Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan and Ping Wang, Washington University, St Louis, US

Human Capital, Trade and Public Policy in Rapidly Growing Economies argues that only two centuries ago, no society had ever enjoyed sustained growth in living standards. The contributors to this book aim to discover why the world today exhibits a predilection for perpetual self-improvement.

In particular, the book focuses on the forces underlying long-lasting growth in East Asia’s Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs). Drawing from the experiences of Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, it questions whether public policy can contribute to removing barriers towards accumulation of wealth, and if so, what development policy should be put in place to remedy the existing distortions or market failure problems.