The spectacular growth of many economies in East Asia over the past 30 years has amazed the economics profession, which inevitably refers to the success of the so-called Four Tigers of the region (Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan Province of China) as miraculous. This paper critically reviews the reasons alleged for this extraordinary growth. It weighs arguments in the debate over factor accumulation versus technical progress, the role of public policy, the contribution of investments and exports, and the influence of initial conditions on subsequent growth.