Tiger Cub Economies

Tiger cub economies, or just tiger economies, is a term for developing countries in SE Asia. Think: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam...those guys. (See: Tiger Economy.)

While there’s not an official line differentiating between a “tiger economy” and a “tiger cub economy,” the “cub” part, when used, implies less-developed countries. For instance, Vietnam and the Philippines are more cub-like than leading tiger economies like Thailand and Malaysia, which have at least 3x more GDP per capita than the former.

The original “Four Asian Tigers” were Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan, each of which industrialized quickly, maintaining high economic growth since the 1960s. They’re now some of the wealthiest nations in the world. No longer the cubs they once were.

Tiger cub economies combine room for economic growth with heavy exporting, and utilizing technology to make it all happen. Unlike slow-growth developing countries, suffering from symptoms of late-stage capitalism, tiger economies attract foreign investment for their growth potential and low-cost labor.

At the rate that tiger cub economies are growing, many economists believe they’ll surpass their OG tiger economy counterparts in the not-so-far-off future. Meeeowww.