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Hong Kong and Singapore as an Anglo-Chinese Success Story

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Economic Liberalism and the Developmental State

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Abstract

In order to fully understand the contributing factors of economic development in Hong Kong and Singapore, it is essential to explore their respective histories. This is especially warranted considering that both city-states were British colonies since the early nineteenth century. Founded in 1819 and 1843, respectively, by the British, Hong Kong and Singapore witnessed the introduction of British institutions, governance, and policies for more than a century before WWII. The role that British colonialism played in the development of both countries must be assessed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This “big push” argument has intellectual roots in the works of Rosenstein-Rodan and Ragnar Nurkse. See Rosenstein-Rodan (1961).

  2. 2.

    In a letter dated 17 July 1820 to his cousin Reverend Doctor Thomas Raffles, Stamford had bemoaned that he “find them (the authorities) deserting me and giving way in every instance to the unscrupulous and enormous pretensions of the Dutch” (Boulger, 1899, p. 311).

  3. 3.

    The Secret Committee of Directors, which was the inner council of the East India Company, denounced Raffles’ actions; in a letter dated 14 August 1819, they said that “any difficulty with the Dutch will be created by Sir Stamford Raffles’ intemperance of conduct and of language” (Boulger, 1899, pp. 326–327).

  4. 4.

    Both had exchanged numerous letters and met for business and pleasure (Bastin, 2009, pp. 239–240, 298).

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  1. Department of Political Economy, King’s College London, London, UK

    Bryan Cheang

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Cheang, B. (2023). Hong Kong and Singapore as an Anglo-Chinese Success Story. In: Economic Liberalism and the Developmental State. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08100-2_5

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