Per capita growth in the EU was only slightly below the US figure from 1990-2000. Japan stagnated, but its currency also appreciated significantly during that period (going from slightly above 140 yen per $US to around 110 yen).
> Japan, China, SK also have serious problems. e.g. SK was
> bailed out by IMF after Asian financial crisis. 150 million people in
> China suffer from malnutrition etc.
I hate to sound like that icon of pre-digital technology, the broken record, but... Korea was bailed out by the Japanese banks and their European counterparts, who agreed to roll over the chaebol's loans (Deutsche Bank helped refinance Hynix, e.g.). China's hinterland is poor, yes, but the surplus generated by the coastal boom does seem to be lifting real incomes. This isn't to let the IMF off the hook: the neolibs bear criminal responsibility for the plundering of Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. But East Asia isn't following the neoliberal script.
-- DRR