the tiger economies

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a term coined in the 1980s and 1990s to describe the spectacularly rapid economic development of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan — the Four Asian Tigers or Four Asian Dragons — who transformed from relatively poor economies in the 1950s to wealthy, industrialised societies with per capita incomes comparable to Western Europe within a single generation through export-led manufacturing strategies, high savings rates, investment in education, and developmental state policies; the tiger metaphor conveys speed, ferocity, and the powerful energy of a creature in its prime; the success of the original four tigers inspired the identification of second-tier tiger economies in Southeast Asia including Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia; the tiger economies debate has shaped development economics through its implications for the roles of state intervention, industrial policy, and institutions in economic catch-up