Economic Development in East Asia - Essay Example

Economic Development in East Asia East Asia is composed of many countries. The total population is more and the growth did not pertain to any one country. The development of each country contributed to the total development of East Asia. Economic development was different in each of the country. While countries like Japan and china started growing at a rapid speed, some countries took their own time in improving. Modern economy started prevailing in almost all these countries. China and Japan opted only at a later stage. ASEAN members including Malaysia and Indonesia preferred the modern economy and worked towards it from 1970's.(Kirby 1967). Many countries started the modern economic growth post Second World War while some other countries chose to start them according to their preference. The biggest developer Japan decided to use the modern economy from 1985, where as china implemented it from 1980s. It followed the economy policy and preferred market economies over central economy. From then it has been a growing stage for each country as well as the East Asia as a whole. Globalization created so much impact on all the countries and only some could withstand the era of Globalization. East Asian countries did not face this problem. They were strong enough to accept and change towards globalization, and from then there has been a continuous growth in all the countries. As politics played a major role in the development of a country, many countries could not improve their economic standard immediately. They had to cooperate with the government and abide by their rules and regulations. The growth and development was seen in starting up new industries and inventing new things.(Nabende 2003). Import and Export underwent a transformation. Countries like Japan and China started to manufacture their own products instead of importing them from other foreign countries. This in turn resulted in exporting goods manufactured by them to the other countries. Manufacturing companies started to produce textiles, technological products and other industrial and home appliances. The shares of each country were based on their development and some of them had a tough time due to the massive improvement of China and Japan. (Sycip 1996).There was also a growth on the education and employment, which gradually improved the economy. After some years, the government started providing monetary support to the countries, which made the development easier. The trade and its market started to improve; import and export decided a countries role to develop other nations. Though East Asian countries were experiencing growth, in the 1980s there was a setback which the countries found it difficult to cope up with. Some of them reported zero growth and import and export were affected. This condition improved after years of struggle and fight. Japan was leading in the development stage and it faced a severe competition with the improvement of United States. The value of dollar and Yen kept in fluctuating. There was a tough competition between them. Financial Crisis Financial crisis disturbed and turned down the improvement of almost all the countries in the world. East Asian countries were the worst hit by the financial crisis. There was a drop in their currency value too. (Greenwood 2005).The U.S dollar continued to dominate and countries like Japan and China had their currencies floating. The recovery from this crisis took some time and improvement seemed to be tough. Due to this crisis, trading operations totally came to a halt. Countries with good economies could manage, where as smaller countries started to suffer. Investment went down and they found it difficult to tide over the situation. But then after sometime the countries started to recover and the recovery was rather a shock to the other countries. With the help of the government, countries gained financial support and their trading, import, export and investment seemed to improve. Trade assignments between the East Asian countries helped them to grow at a faster pace. Regionalization turned out to be an advantage to most of the countries, while some countries continued to suffer. (Yamawaza 2004). Market structures industrial improvement led to the economic development. People from other countries were interested in investing in the East Asian countries, which resulted in the growth of business. This indicated that growth of a country will affect the improvement and development of the other countries. The Government started to operate in a more efficient manner that could help the country to improve and compete with the rest of the world. Globalization created an impact on the developing nations. Information Technology turned the world upside down. With its drastic improvement, the country's economic level went to a peak. It opened the doors for various business people and the country's productivity and manufacturing became better. A country needs the support of government and other private parties to steadily improve in their economy. The growth of business and the prevailing market conditions acted as a boon for the countries to improve. Business Success Businesses were flourishing and many countries developed courage to invest in the emerging technologies. People who invested money in their business could make a decent profit and they were able to continue and expand their business globally. Traditional business and its marketing took a turn and new strategies were implemented by the countries. A country developed as a whole, in terms of economy, industries, business and technological improvement. The culture was modified and it was due to the prevailing western culture. (Nabende 2003).As the economic status of the countries was improving, the people too had money to invest and to spend lavishly. Business growth was not attributed to the flow of money alone. As the manufacturers did not problem in import and export, the products manufactured at one country could be easily got by the other counties. This helped in the spread of a country's culture to the rest of the world. Impact of Economic, Business Development Economic development and business success left an impact in other areas of improvement. As the business and economic development was wide spread, people started opting for new technologies and inventions. This resulted in the inclusion of the various cultures that were followed by other countries. (Han, Senta 1999). Modern economy and technologies led to the development of Confucianism in the East Asian countries. Western technology started creating an impact on other countries. Confucianism and western technology combined with the improvement of business success in other countries. As the improvement was global, technologies were given a chance to enter in to other countries. People started experimenting new and emerging technologies which helped in the overall improvement and the country's development was multidimensional. One of the major effects of this economic and business development was Confucianism and Western technology. Confucianism Confucianism is an intellectual part in Japan, Hong Kong and China. This included many other East Asian countries. Confucianism created the culture in the East Asian region for several years. Each country adapted Confucianism at a different period. Due to Confucianism many countries experienced improvement in all the aspects. The economic growth was also higher. It formed the tradition of the East Asian countries. In spite of major differences among these countries, they stood together in terms of Confucianism. Although the population, economy and the growth were not similar, the culture they followed was the same. (Yao 2000). Confucianism brought people from the various countries together. The economic success of these countries was in some way depended and based on this concept. Confucianism played a major role in the country's development. Evolution of Confucianism Confucianism came into existence from the Confucius, who lived in China. China was under the emperor's rule during that time. There was a huge difference among the people in terms of growth. The government did not work much on the integration of people or bringing them together. Confucius made the people aware of the morals of the society. He thought the society can be improved only if people followed the morals and followed them. (Hu 1997). If the people in the society followed it, this will influence the country's overall integration. He also emphasized that human rights is important and every human has the liberty to select what he wants. He felt that moral qualities need to be developed and this in turn will have an effect in the development of the people. Confucianism urges people to modify their behavior and follow the principles of the religion. This concept concentrates on uniting the people of all the countries. It does not depend on the other policies and methods to bring the people together. (Songhua 2002). Development of Confucianism Confucianism had created a great impact on the development and improvement of a country. Many countries considered it as a hindrance to develop and improve. Some of the countries felt it will not affect the growth and development of their country. Confucianism helped in the enhancement of certain countries and they strictly followed Confucianism. Confucianism mainly followed capitalism and it was a new aspect based on capitalism. The modern economy and government where all influenced by Confucianism. (Chau 1996). Modern government was followed by the countries that adapted Confucianism. The concept of government being modern was got from the West and the impact was more. The western countries have been developing institutions based on the government. Though many countries decided to follow modern government, the countries that followed Confucianism were different from the other countries. The nations altered the policies to suit the needs of their country by combining it with Confucianism. This was the starting point of the integration of Confucianism and western culture. From then, there has been a tremendous improvement in the western technology and the number of countries adapting Confucianism started to increase. As the main aim Confucianism was to unite the nations, western technology paved way for this. Day by day people started using the western technology. Globalization combined with Confucianism and helped in the modernization of the government as well as the economy. Chinese Societies Confucianism enhanced the modernization of Chinese societies. It played a vital role in the Chinese society and the expansion of its culture with the evolution of globalization. The government in china was based on religion. Modernization created a threat to the Confucianism and the technology followed in the western countries. Non-western culture could not cope up with the rapid development of modernization. Hence some countries suffered in the midst of globalization and modernization. (Wilkinson 2005).The modern Chinese society transformed the Confucianism from the traditional values and morals to the modern culture. (Bruce 1998).Later in the 19th century Chinese society that followed Confucianism was struck in modernism. China was influenced more by the Western culture. Confucianism underwent a change in the modern times and it had been able to adjust with the western technology. In the beginning of 20th century, Confucianism was combined with total westernization. Confucianism and Western Technology China went through a tough time when there was a battle between Confucianism and modernization. This resulted in Cultural Revolution that made China's entry into modernization doubtful. After the evolution of modern Confucianism, the situation was different. (Daehwan 2003). It retained the values of Confucianism and imposed the modern thoughts. This modern Confucianism has grown more with the support from East Asian countries and their economic development. These countries that were following Confucianism helped in the evolution of modern Confucianism. Modern Confucianism concentrated more on reforming the Chinese society.(Zhiming 2007). Western technology started to spread all over the world and most of the countries were influenced by the evolution of western culture. Though many of them were fond of the western culture, it was difficult for some of the countries to achieve it. Chinese government felt Western technology will modify their existing values and traditions. Countries like Japan and Singapore which have been following Confucianism went through modernization. The industries and business expansion have developed well after the modernization in these countries. So far they have been successful and modernization has not affected their growth, instead it has helped them in the process of development. (Liu, John 2003).East Asian countries did not undergo any problem by following the western culture. Surveys show that East Asian nations have grown by implementing Confucianism as well as modernization. This led to the combination of Confucianism and western technology. East Asian and Western countries were influenced by Confucianism. Economic development of East Asian countries enhanced the combination of Confucianism and Western technology. As business started expanding in East Asian nations, it paved way for the people from other countries to migrate to East Asian countries. This led to the evolution of Confucianism in these countries. After the western technology started to flourish, Confucianism combined with it. The economic development and business success played a major role in combining Confucianism and Western technology. References Kirby, S., (1967). Economic Development in East Asia. London: Allen & Unwin Publishers. Nabende, B., (2003). International Trade, Capital Flows and Economic Development in East Asia. England: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Sycip, W., (1996). Asian Perspectives on Business and Management, Economic Success and Governance. Philippines: University of Philippines Press. Yao, X., (2000). An Introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge University Press. Han, S & Senta, N., (1999). Changing Values in Asia : Their Impact onGovernance and Development. Japan: Center for International Exchange. Hu, S., 1997. 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Available at: http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LnyJjH6fvZBJNsw99J1V6GGpbLCw1Kzg270NQLrgZNX3JLdX3zW1!-699586516!-1632884101docId=5001320591 [Accessed: 15 December 2009]. Read More