Political Leadership Matters: The Case of Four Successful East Asian Economies

Out of the thirteen economies that registered sustained rapid economic growth in the post-war period, only six successfully transitioned into high-income economies. Malaysia did not make the cut. The Commission on Growth and Development (CGD) identified credible leadership as a key factor behind the success of the six economies, but it had very little to say about the individual political leaders. This paper fills the gap by allowing the political leaders and their adroitness to speak for them. In particular, we focus on the mindset, acumen and demeanour of the key political leaders in building social capabilities that are crucial to rapid economic growth and development. We find that key political leaders like Okubo Toshimichi of Japan, Park Chung Hee of South Korea, Chiang Kai Shek of Taiwan and Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore rose to the external, existential threats to their peoples and paved the way for them to catch up with the developed economies by displaying and practising the mindset and behaviours of the class of transformational leadership.