THE ASIAN GROWTH MIRACLE: FACTOR ACCUMULATION, THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION AND R&D-DRIVEN GROWTH

The spectacular growth rates in the Asian miracle economies (AMEs) are often attributed to factor accumulation whilst ignoring the forces that have been responsible for it. Using data for six AMEs over the period from 1953 to 2009, this paper extends the conventional growth accounting exercise by allowing for the population growth drag and endogeneity of capital deepening, savings, labor force participation and schooling. It is shown that growth has been predominantly a result of the demographic transition and productivity growth, where the latter has been driven by R&D, knowledge spillovers through imports and R&D absorptive capacity.