ASEAN Prospects for NIC Status(<Special Issue>Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Issue)

Abstract

This paper attempts, first, to give an overview of the economic development of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand in the postwar period (especially since the 1960s) from both macro and industry levels and, then, to investigate their prospects of attaining the status of NICs (Newly Industrializing Countries) in the near future. The latter topic is discussed in the light of the concepts of NICs employed by OECD [1979] and B. Balassa [1981]. A brief outlook is given for the Thai economy, as Thailand is regarded as the most typical near-NIC among these four.