Choose a factor and test how well it explains why economies diverged.
Which factor best explains why Southeast Asian economies developed so differently?
Domestic economic conditions
- Oil in Indonesia and Malaysia.
- No resources or home market in Singapore.
They set the opportunities and limits.
Resource-rich Burma stagnated.
The role of government
- Singapore's EDB.
- Burma's nationalisation.
It explains why similar countries diverged.
It could not control world shocks.
Private businesses
- Chinese conglomerates.
- Multinational electronics firms.
They turned policy into production.
Many depended on government favour.
External conditions
- Japanese investment after 1985.
- The 1997 crisis.
They set the pace of growth and the timing of shocks.
Countries responded very differently.