WHY ISNT THE WHOLE WORLD EXPERIMENTING WITH THE EAST-ASIAN MODEL TO DEVELOP - REVIEW OF THE EAST-ASIAN MIRACLE

Like Narcissus, the World Bank sees its own reflection in East Asia's success. It attributes the East Asian miracle to macroeconomic basics - high saving and investment rates, expenditures on education, and exp orts - but in reality, these are anchored in micro-institutions that e xhibit pervasive state intervention. East Asia created competitiveness by subsidizing learning, whereas Bank policy emphasizes methods that effectively cut real wages. The Report is rich in empirical data, but they do not support the Bank's dismissal of industrial policy as ''ine ffective,'' and they are presented in a way that makes it difficult fo r students to corroborate Bank findings. The greatest disappointment o f the Report's market fundamentalism is a failure to study seriously h ow elements of the East Asian model can be adapted to suit conditions in other countries.