South Asia: A subcontinenta saga

…India and Pakistan are still below $500 whereas those for East Asian developing countries range from over $2,000 for Thailand to as high as about $8,500 in the Republic of Korea. Given the vastly divergent economic development among the groups of countries, it would be a common myth to presume that the discrepancy in development is somehow inherited by the respective groups of countries. Contrary to this general perception, it is quite an enigma to note that, this had not been the case in the past. In fact, economic development measured in terms of GNP per capita in the 1960s for all these countries was quite similar and comparable to the extent that all the countries, with the exception of Malaysia, were below the $200 mark. Not only that, the Republic of Korea had a per capita income of only $130 in 1966, which is even lower than that of Cambodia at that time… (ESCAP, 2001, p.4).

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development