"It is a soft, forgiving culture. Only in the Philippines could a leader like Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged his country for over 20 years, still be considered for a national burial. Insignificant amounts of the loot have been recovered, yet his wife and children were allowed to return and engage in politics."
See also the Fujimori dynasty in Peru. Alberto Fujimori's daughter Keiko was very close to winning the presidency during the last election. Alberto still has close to half approval rates despite being brutal against indigenous tribes and getting caught on camera taking bribes. If Keiko were to run again she would probably take the top spot due to promises of continued economic growth.
In SK daughter of dictator become presidential candidates. In Indonesia Prabowo Subianto is presidential candidates and despite lost become minister of Defense. Bangladesh and Burma had daughter of dictator rule. in Asia dynastic politics is important.
When you make the top takeaway "political stability," isn't that kind of...exactly what an authoritarian will be excited to point to when he argues for a third/fourth/life term in power? Maybe it's not that this isn't economically important, it's that the obvious flip side of how this argument has been deployed in the real world is given short shrift.
This was my exact thought. Noah doesn't seem to know who Marcos really is, and doesn't really have a grasp of how the country feels about him as well as the recurrent coups that will inevitably take place. 'Political stability' my ass.
You might want to mention that its electronics exports are larger than the entire GDP's of 90% of countries in Africa. Or that it's the 2nd largest producer of nickel (essential for electric vehicles). And that its BPO industry employs about 1.5 million people and generates revenues equal to Bangladesh's garment industry (~$30 billion each year). Or that it produces more accounting and STEM graduates than Mexico, and about equal to Poland. Or that its percentage of university graduates in STEM is higher than 90% of countries in Europe.
Yeah, you have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to the Philippines if you don't even mention the coups that take place every new election. Why make a point about political stability without mentioning this? Your last paragraph just comes across as utopian nonsense.
Hi Noah. Great article on a probably under-focused on area! Somewhat unrelated question here: the chart on growth in Asia countries GDP peaked my interest. I couldn’t find the exact same data for Latin America, but I am assuming the growth is slower (although these economies are probably larger than the southeast Asian countries). Wondering if you think the US could be doing more to invest in our geographic neighborhood akin to what China seems to be doing. Thinking from a China vs. US perspective, but it may also be this is just good for the US to do in a vacuum. Thanks!
I'm about to start reading Studwell’s How Asia Works. His comments on the Philippines really seem off the mark. I recently read the Park Chung Hee Era, Noah could you recommend a similar book on Japan?
It would be interesting to see what countries *do*! Probably not Switzerland or Sweden. There's a lot of countries that probably have one or the other - Norway, Netherlands, France, Saudi Arabia. But both?
Question - where do you get these Exports and Destinations data from? (Not questioning data--I like the charts)
They are from the Atlas of Economic Complexity!
Very cool site. Thanks!
"It is a soft, forgiving culture. Only in the Philippines could a leader like Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged his country for over 20 years, still be considered for a national burial. Insignificant amounts of the loot have been recovered, yet his wife and children were allowed to return and engage in politics."
— Lee Kuan Yew
Also Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria's president from 2015 to 2023 was also the country's military dictator.
See also the Fujimori dynasty in Peru. Alberto Fujimori's daughter Keiko was very close to winning the presidency during the last election. Alberto still has close to half approval rates despite being brutal against indigenous tribes and getting caught on camera taking bribes. If Keiko were to run again she would probably take the top spot due to promises of continued economic growth.
In SK daughter of dictator become presidential candidates. In Indonesia Prabowo Subianto is presidential candidates and despite lost become minister of Defense. Bangladesh and Burma had daughter of dictator rule. in Asia dynastic politics is important.
I hate to be that guy…but have you looked at the United States over the past couple of decades?
When you make the top takeaway "political stability," isn't that kind of...exactly what an authoritarian will be excited to point to when he argues for a third/fourth/life term in power? Maybe it's not that this isn't economically important, it's that the obvious flip side of how this argument has been deployed in the real world is given short shrift.
This was my exact thought. Noah doesn't seem to know who Marcos really is, and doesn't really have a grasp of how the country feels about him as well as the recurrent coups that will inevitably take place. 'Political stability' my ass.
You might want to mention that its electronics exports are larger than the entire GDP's of 90% of countries in Africa. Or that it's the 2nd largest producer of nickel (essential for electric vehicles). And that its BPO industry employs about 1.5 million people and generates revenues equal to Bangladesh's garment industry (~$30 billion each year). Or that it produces more accounting and STEM graduates than Mexico, and about equal to Poland. Or that its percentage of university graduates in STEM is higher than 90% of countries in Europe.
ctrl+F "coup", 0 results
Yeah, you have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to the Philippines if you don't even mention the coups that take place every new election. Why make a point about political stability without mentioning this? Your last paragraph just comes across as utopian nonsense.
The Philippines hasn't had a coup in about 40 years. You have no idea what you're talking about. You're probably confusing it for Thailand.
Hi Noah. Great article on a probably under-focused on area! Somewhat unrelated question here: the chart on growth in Asia countries GDP peaked my interest. I couldn’t find the exact same data for Latin America, but I am assuming the growth is slower (although these economies are probably larger than the southeast Asian countries). Wondering if you think the US could be doing more to invest in our geographic neighborhood akin to what China seems to be doing. Thinking from a China vs. US perspective, but it may also be this is just good for the US to do in a vacuum. Thanks!
See 4.3 here Reddell Hypothesis. It relates to NZ as an isolated country that kept adding population.
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2014-04/twp14-10.pdf
It's as Adam Smith said: peace, easy taxes, and tolerable administration of justice.
I'm about to start reading Studwell’s How Asia Works. His comments on the Philippines really seem off the mark. I recently read the Park Chung Hee Era, Noah could you recommend a similar book on Japan?
Great article. Very interesting. Thank you.
Interesting articles in The Atlantic by James Fallows years ago; I don't know if the country is still run like a family business.
Wait, Indonesia doesn't have 10k gdp per capita nor does Vietnam have 8k. Am I retarded or is your y-axis wrong?
Ohh, what the hell is constant international $. Is Noah misleading us or is it 300IQ move? xD
It's PPP and inflation adjusted
It's PPP, isn't it?
Singapore has neither
It would be interesting to see what countries *do*! Probably not Switzerland or Sweden. There's a lot of countries that probably have one or the other - Norway, Netherlands, France, Saudi Arabia. But both?
The US and Russia have something like it.
Every Latin American country except Panama is a net food exporter as of 2012-2014 when measured in dollars (not necessarily calories). This is shown in figure 3: https://economics.rabobank.com/publications/2015/september/latin-america-agricultural-perspectives/
Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Mexico (in descending order) are also net energy exporters as of 2014. See:
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.IMP.CONS.ZS
I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few countries each in Africa and Southeast Asia which are net exporters of both.
“Net exporter” isn’t quite “sovereignty”, particularly since food for export is often not good you can use in an emergency.