The Emerging Post Washington, Post Beijing Consensus: Prospects and Pitfalls

Abstract

The Washington Consensus (WC), which dominated the development world for over two decades, has been called into question on both theoretical and empirical grounds. Those countries that adhered most closely to the WC failed to achieve sustained growth, while the East Asian Tigers that rejected the WC and followed their own development path achieved remarkable growth. Many attributed the success of the early East Asian Tigers to the East Asian Model (EAM), and the more recent success of China to the China Model or Beijing Consensus (BC). However, the lost decade in Japan, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and growing concerns that China may be caught in the dreaded “middle-income trap” have called into question the viability of the EAM and its more specific China variants. The shortcomings of the WC and BC have led to attempts to develop new theories and approaches to development, variously referred to as the new development state, state capitalism, liberal neo-developmentalism, new structural economics, the Post Washington Consensus or the Post Washington, Post Beijing Consensus (PWBC). This article discusses the emerging consensus, delineates the main features of the PWBC, and analyzes both its potential and limits for guiding development policies in the post-GFC era.

Keywords: Washington Consensus, Post Washington Post Beijing Consensus, East Asian Model, Beijing Consensus, new developmental state, state and development