Question

Which of the following is one of the major events that account for the vigorous economic growth of the ASEAN countries and their transformation from cheap-labor havens to industrialized nations?

A. The decision to shift their economies from manufacturing based to commodity based.
B. North Koreas' emergence as a major provider of technology and capital necessary to upgrade manufacturing capability.
C. A bilateral trade agreement between the United States and Vietnam leading to the granting of NTR status to Vietnam.
D. Hong Kong becoming a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China.
E. The ASEAN governments' commitment to deregulation, liberalization, and privatization of their economies.

Answer 1

The ASEAN countries' vigorous economic growth and industrialization were largely due to their governments' commitment to deregulation, liberalization, and privatization, particularly through export-led industrialization, which allowed convergence with technological leaders.

Step-by-step explanation:

One of the major events that account for the vigorous economic growth of the ASEAN countries and their transformation from cheap-labor havens to industrialized nations is E. The ASEAN governments' commitment to deregulation, liberalization, and privatization of their economies. The East Asian Tigers, including economies such as Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea, exemplify this trend by maintaining high growth rates and rapid export-led industrialization between the early 1960s and 1990. This strategy allowed them to integrate with and even begin to converge with the technological leaders in high-income countries.

These countries have also succeeded by linking standardized production technologies with low-cost labor while gradually moving up the value chain. Significant economic development was also propelled by integrating their economies with global markets and focusing on industries such as computers, automobiles, plastics, chemicals, steel, shipbuilding, and sporting goods.