A tiger economy is the economy of a country which undergoes rapid economic growth, usually accompanied by an increase in the standard of living.[1] The term was originally used for the Four Asian Tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore) as tigers are important in Asian symbolism, which also inspired the Tiger Cub Economies (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines). The Asian Tigers also inspired other economies later on; the Anatolian Tigers (certain cities in Turkey) in the 1980s, the Gulf Tiger (Dubai) in the 1990s, the Celtic Tiger (Republic of Ireland) in 1995–2000, the Baltic tigers (Baltic states) in 2000–2007, and the Tatra Tiger (Slovakia) in 2002–2007.[2]
- ^ A definition of Tiger Economy is provided by the Macmillan Online Dictionary, available here
- ^ See this essay by Michal Hvorecký for an example of the term applied to Slovakia - The End of the Economic Miracle Archived 17 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine