Ezra Vogel's Five Situational Factors

Between the early 1960s and 1990s, the Four Little Dragons, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea, underwent rapid industrialization, fast becoming the three pillars of modern industrial world order. Ezra Vogel, author of the book The Four Little Dragons, attributes the Four Dragon’s success to how cultural background interacted with politics, strategy, and most importantly, five “situational factors”—U.S. aid, destruction of the old order, sense of political urgency, an eager and plentiful labor supply and familiarity with the Japanese model of success. Combining these factors allowed for the Four Dragons to achieve success because of the complex institutional and cultural practices rooted in the Confucian tradition of which they adapted

East Asia’s industrial breakthrough stimulated countries around the world to raise their expectations concerning economic improvement and changed the way countries analyzed how best to improve their nation’s economies. Despite not being able to match the appeal of the U.S.’s democracy, concern for human rights, receptiveness to foreigners, or creativity in pop culture, East Asia’s economic success did stir interest in the way it improved itself and increased its role and influence in the world. Most notable however, the successful industrial transformation of East Asia has extended the area of interest not only to East Asia specialists but to other areas of interest such as academics, world politics and finance. As the world grew, countries became more interconnected, working to effectively achieve success and raise their

After World War II, both countries served as major ports for over a century, maintaining a solid base in finance, shipping, insurance, information, and other services. The 1950s and 1960s saw an agricultural sector consisting of rural truck farmers that brought produce into the cities to sell, while the 1970s and 1980s saw a growth and expansion in urban districts, and rural areas were turned into suburbs. The whole metropolitan area was connected by improved systems of transportation, farming decreased, and agricultural produce was imported from across the city states. Industrial transformation began in Hong Kong in the 1950s and Singapore in the 1960s. Due to both their small population sizes however, local consumer markets were unable to serve as a base for local industry build up, thus leaving no choice but to concentrate on industry in small sectors. The two cities’ approaches to industrialization, however, were different. Hong Kong remained a British colony and had a laissez-faire approach to economic development while Singapore became independent in 1965 and had a government that played an activist role in guiding economic development, managing enterprises and shaping social development. Hong Kong’s entrepreneurs created many different sized businesses, especially in the textile sector, which eventually branched out into other