The phenomenons that are the East Asian economies are labelled as such due to the fall in unemployment, the constant low inflation and the rapid growth of their GDPs as well as the fact that it is happening for the first time in this region. Europe’s economic growth occurred slowly over many centuries, whilst North America’s took place perhaps more quickly; but nowhere near as spectacularly as East Asia which, as all the previously listed continents are democratic, can be seen anomalous. The People’s Republic of China has had a century peppered with civil wars and unrest since the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Throughout this tumultuous period, the Chinese people have been led by various governing bodies. Although traditional communism restricts free trade, the current Chinese government is operating under a free trade policy and, as seen by David Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage, this has increased efficiency in China’s area of specialisation, namely Electrical machinery and equipment , which has benefitted its trading partners such as America and Europe. It is extremely difficult to isolate variables such as social aspects, the government’s policies and the global economic climate therefore no one can definitively say whether the political system of a country has any bearing on its economic state. It is important to remember that through experience, no one can definitively say which political structures are good or bad for economic growth as dictatorships and democracies both experience the recessions and booms of the international economy; it’s how countries react to them which is most important.
In many ways China’s performance should silence those who think democracy is good for growth because the increase in economic activity and prosperity is unprecedented. The dominant unique factor for The People’s Republic of China is its political system. Not