THE VISIBLE HAND - THE STATE AND EAST-ASIA ECONOMIC-GROWTH

The causes of the East Asian economic miracle have been the subject of intense debate. Is it the invisible hand of the free market left to itself/ Or is it partly because government ''technocrats ... did a lot of what neoclassical economists say bureaucrats cannot do well: they picked industries for special promotion, [treating] particular industries at any one time (information, electronics, and biotechnology today, for example) as the natural successors to the bridges and lighthouses of Adam Smith's day-which Smith thought too critical for the general welfare to be left to market forces.''