A Revisit of the East Asian Development Experiences in the Context of South Asia

This paper compares the level of economic development in South Asia and East Asia, and explores the features of East Asian Development experiences and existing situation in South Asia. Several development indicators such as per capita income, human development index and millennium development goals' indicators reveal that South Asia is far behind many East Asian countries where some distinctive features of the development process were followed in the past such as developmental role of the state, high savings and investment, emphasis on the manufacturing sector, export-led growth, focus on infrastructure and human capital as reflected in macroeconomic data. However, data show that South Asia lack these features. South Asia should follow these features to accelerate economic progress, including giving focus on productive use of remittance, and achieve an increasing return in service sectors considering changing circumstances.