MOVING UP THE LADDER: Development Challenges for Low and Middle-Income Asia

Besides export expansion, a growing middle class in Asia has contributed to the area's economic expansion, providing Asian countries with a window of opportunity to leap from low/middle income levels to high income levels. It may sound easy for these countries to run up the ladder of economic growth, but the potential risks of quickly shifting from low/middle to high income levels are often overlooked. Careful studies in history reveal that the experience of moving up the ladder of economic...