Four small economies with no resources became manufacturing powerhouses in a generation

Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan had little in the way of natural resources after the Second World War, yet each sustained annual growth above 7% from the 1960s onward by combining export-oriented manufacturing, heavy investment in education, and high savings rates. Economists still debate how much credit belongs to state planning versus open markets.

— World Bank development economists, The East Asian Miracle — World Bank policy research report, 1993