Four Asian Tigers

If the song “Eye of the Tiger” got Rocky ramped up for his workouts, then what did the Four Asian Tigers do? Easy: they ramped up economic growth and productivity in Asia.

The Four Asian Tigers, also called the Four Asian Dragons, are Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Starting in the 1950s and ‘60s, each of these countries started implementing various high-growth, low-tax, export-focused economic policies, and the results went boom.

Though each Tiger has its own tale to tell, the gist of each goes something like this:

Once upon a time, the country’s economy was not doing so well. Through a combination of aggressive economic and trade policies and varying levels of state intervention, the economy improved. And not only did it improve, it improved like...whoa. These countries went from economic meh to leading the region—and sometimes the world—in GDP, industrial growth, technological research and adaptation, and general financial health, and these trends have continued into the 21st century. The Asian financial crisis of 1997 and the worldwide recession of 2008 were like dirt on the Tigers’ shoulders; they just brushed it off and kept on grooving.

All four Tigers are now considered among the world’s wealthiest nations. Though the specific circumstances and policies of each are different, one thing’s for sure: they each (to paraphrase that glorious song by Survivor) rose up, took their chances, and went the economic distance. Rocky would be proud.