Education Forum for Asia 2005 Annual Conference

Opening Ceremony

Grzegorz W. Kolodko

     Former Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, the Republic of Poland

Madame Chen, Ladies and Gentleman,

Since this is the forum on education, I think that all of us, and for sure most of us, are very happy that we are here to learn, so we are not only the educators, but are also being educated by others. 

While thinking what to say during this short address besides my two keynote speeches, one already delivered and another one scheduled for Sunday morning, I went back to my early years when I was quite critical towards the economic policy in my country, in Poland, a thousand or so years ago, at the beginning of the ‘90’s.  And, when I was looking for an answer how to tackle the issues, how to meet the challenge of economy in transition to the market system, civic society, and political democracy, I was convinced that one has to learn from the failures and from the success stories.  And, at that period of time, there were plenty of failures, especially in Latin America, and we were afraid in Poland and some other East Central European countries of something that was nicknamed “latinization”, a threat of “latinization”.  And, I studied very extensively why things didn’t work in the ’80’s and the beginning of the 90’s in Latin America, in that remote part of the world from this perspective. 

But, I have also learned a lot from the East Asian experience, and, interestingly enough at that time the World Bank under the insistence of Japan, one of the driving forces of that time of the world economy had produced in the early ‘90’s the annual World Development Report entitled the “Asian Miracle”.  We were talking about the Asian Miracle already 12 years ago when China’s contribution to the world output, to world knowledge, to global technology was much smaller than it is in the 2005. 

This is the 13^th time in my life to come to China, the second time this year, three times last year, and each time I come to this great country, I am surprised, and I have to admit that I admire the progress which is taking place in the is great country and this great nation.  So, now people all over the world are talking about the “Chinese Miracle”.  Is there anything like a “Chinese Miracle”?  In economic life, in economic activity, to be sure there is no miracle.  My last book published this year is called The Polish Miracle:  Lessons for Emerging Markets, but that is, you know, very much for the commercial purpose, because I think it is a nice title and being from a very Catholic country, which Poland is, I can assure you that there is nothing like a miracle in Poland. 

If we are doing a little bit better from time to time than some other countries in transition to full fledged market economy, if you are catching up a little bit faster with more developed parts of the world than other emerging markets, that is very much because of the wisdom of the people and also the wisdom of the leaders:  the business leaders, the political leaders, and the intellectual leaders.  And, I am very glad this Education Forum for Asia is paying so much attention to education from this perspective.  Knowledge, management, international cooperation, and, actually a knowledge-based economy.  The career word, the career term of the future, and maybe in the entire 21^st Century is very much to be focused on a knowledge-based economy.

But, I can also share with you some other experience because I have twice been Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, two in one, you know, like “wash and go”. Whenever the people from research and academia are talking about a knowledge-based economy, they are asking the Finance Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for education for money.  More money, more money at the cost of the taxpayers, more money from the government, for R&D, for education, and so on and so on. 

Definitely, knowledge-based economy is not one, which is to be measured by the share of government expenditures for education, training, higher education, R&D.  This is one way of measuring.  A knowledge-based economy is the economy where growing part of the GDP is the value added which is based on knowledge activities.  So, this is everything that has something to do with technological progress, with learning and training, with educating the people.  And, actually, education is a value per se, a value in itself, so the more people are involved in education, such as the students, the teachers, professors, organizers, managers, the more of a knowledge-based economy we have. 

And, we can create a knowledge-based economy not only in the most advanced countries which are members of the OECD, we can also create some spheres or some segments of a knowledge-based economy in the countries which are catching up, and I think that that is very much to be seen from the experience of China and many other East and Southeast Asian countries, and maybe soon most of Asia.

So, therefore, maybe again we have the second down of the “Asian Miracle.”  And, I think that in the year 2005, that’s my feeling; it is too early to say.  The year 2005 is a year in which the attitude, the evaluation of China in the eyes, in the perception of the world is changing, or has changed.  Now, everybody’s talking China, everybody is taking a look into China.  And, I think we also have to take a closer look at how this knowledge-based economy is emerging in China and how it will contribute not only to the well-being of China, which I wish you from the bottom of my heart, but also to the overall progress of humanity, mankind, and the world economy.

Thank You.