Much of this
literature is firmly grounded in the neo-classical tradition and has identified market-oriented
strategies. I shall argue that the hypothesis advanced by some neo-liberal economists, that the
success of the East Asian NIEs is due to the insignificant role of the state, is simply incorrect
and misinterpreted (see Amsden, 1989; Grabowski, 1994; Gunnarsson, 1991; Wade, 1990).
However, this perpetuates a wholly one-sided process of the role of the strong which must be
also interpreted with caution.