Structural Change in Asian and Australasian Countries

Using pubic data from the Asian Development Bank here are some illustrations of the structural changes in output that have occurred across a selection of countries in Far East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Consider the magnitude of the changes that have taken place over the last twenty years. Note for revision which countries appear at the top and the bottom of each individual chart and think about WHY they appear in that position.

Agriculture - output (value added) as a % of GDP

Industrial output (value added) as a % of GDP

Services (value added) as a % of GDP

Revision notes

What are some of the Common Characteristics of Developing Countries?

These characteristics might include:

• Relatively low incomes per capita and a low level of absolute savings - the real GDP per capita of LDCs was only 1.5 per cent of that of developed economies in 2009.
• Lower absolute levels of productivity (labour and capital)
• Often endowed with rich natural resources
• A higher dependency on export incomes from primary commodities / low export diversification
• They have a large share of the population living in rural areas and employed in agriculture
• Limited scope and support provided by a welfare system
• A higher informal sector for example in partial subsistence farming
• Many industries in low-income countries tend to be some distance from technological frontiers
• Relatively fast growth of population and a younger average age
• Rapid urbanisation and large-scale rural-urban migration
• Weaknesses in infrastructure such as telecommunications, transport, ports, water and sanitation
• Weaknesses in institutions such as stable government, civil service money and capital markets
• Relatively higher tariffs and other import controls
• Tendency to have capital controls / relatively closed capital markets
• Lower access to advanced country markets