The Dynamics Of Korean Economic Development

Provides an analysis of the Korean economic development and its future outlook. Covers the period from 1960 to 1992.

The Korean economy has experienced astoundingly rapid growth during the period 1960-90 and is now able, despite its late start, to compete with mature industrialised economies. This book focuses on the underlying economic factors behind this unprecedented growth performance examining the failures as well as the undoubted successes of such development.

In the postwar period, Korea’s economic and social-political metamorphosis is a rare example of a successful transition from one of the world’s poorest developing countries to a highly sophisticated industrial society—an experience which many developing countries are keen to emulate. The change is particularly significant as Korea was able to reduce poverty and keep social inequality at a modest level during its rapid economic development. This volume analyzes the Korean transition in regards to the political and institutional foundation of its government and public policies. The government of Korea single-mindedly carried out public policies to stimulate economic growth, but the government and public policies have themselves been affected and changed by the process. The contention of this volume is that the transition of Korean society and the evolution of the Korean government are the results of two-way interactions. In this context, the volume analyzes the way in which the dynamics of public administration were shaped within the Korean government and the kinds of public policies and instruments that were adopted to encourage this economic and social development. This analysis will allow a more complete understanding of the economic and social transformation of Korea. Surprisingly, there is a paucity of research on this aspect—a gap which this volume seeks to fill. This volume shows that it is necessary to maintain consistency and coherence in government and public policy in order to achieve economic and social transformation, making it of interest to both scholars and policy-makers concerned with development in the Asia-Pacific.

The purpose of this book is to provide a systematic and policy-focused analysis of Korea's development performance from a historical perspective. The book begins with post-war reconstruction efforts and extends to recent developments in the Korean economy. Through a comprehensive analysis of Korea's development performance over the last six decades, the book examines in detail how development strategies and policies evolved over time, what were their consequences and underlying factors, and what lessons can be drawn from the Korean experience. A wide range of issues are discussed, including the role of government, capital accumulation, growth and structural change, industrial development and concentration, economic liberalization, human resource and technology development, social development and income distribution. The important features of the Korean development model are highlighted to draw lessons from the Korean experience.

Focusing on the formation of the Korean economic system, this book presents a fascinating and comprehensive analysis of economic development outside of the traditional neo-classical, developmental-state and dependency perspectives. It examines in detail the evolution of institutions that contributed to economic growth and the formation and the workings of the economic system. With an emphasis on the interaction between government, private institutions (Chaebol and financial institutions) and the influence of Japan, it offers one of the most stimulating and distinctive views of Korean economic development to date. It will be of key interest to scholars and researchers of financial growth and development, Asian finance, and regional and heterodox economics.

"How do poor nations become rich, industrialized, and democratic? And what role does democracy play in this transition? To address these questions, Jongryn Mo and Barry R. Weingast study South Korea’s remarkable transformation since 1960. The authors concentrate on three critical turning points: Park Chung Hee’s creation of the development state beginning in the early 1960s, democratization in 1987, and the genesis of and reaction to the 1997 economic crisis. At each turning point, Korea took a significant step toward creating an open access social order.The dynamics of this transition hinge on the inclusion of a wide array of citizens, rather than just a narrow elite, in economic and political activities and organizations. The political economy systems that followed each of the first two turning points lacked balance in the degree of political and economic openness and did not last. The Korean experience, therefore, suggests that a society lacking balance cannot sustain development. Korean Political and Economic Development offers a new view of how Korea was able to maintain a pro-development state with sustained growth by resolving repeated crises in favor of rebalancing and greater political and economic openness."

This book explores the economic development trajectories of South Korea and Vietnam, focusing on the role of the state in economic success amidst similarities and differences in their experiences. The central role of the state in generating economic development is certainly evident in both cases, but are the paths, institutions, policies and environments the same? These are among the matters that this book explores through a systematic comparative analysis of economic development and the role of the state in South Korea and Vietnam. The results of this analysis provide lessons that will be useful for other developing countries as well as deepen our understanding of the development experiences of South Korea and Vietnam.This book is a remarkable and timely contribution. First, this book provides new insights into the understanding of the dynamics and diversity of economic development across the world and Asia as well as in Korea and Vietnam in particular. While it does not aim to offer a comprehensive study of the economic intervention policies by either countrys government and their impacts, it provides broad and qualitative perspectives on how these policies are selected, implemented and developed at different stages of economic development and in different social and political contexts. Secondly, by tracing the historical trajectories of the changes to the extent of government involvement in economic development in Korea and Vietnam presently, this book contributes to the debate on the efficacy and continuity of the well-worn East Asian model of economic development and gives a line of empirical evidence. Finally, it will help lay out the blueprint of the Vietnamese development model as envisioned by the Korean development model.The innovative nature of this book can be summarized as follows: First, this book engages a historical perspective in order to explore and understand the dynamics of the role of the government; this approach will be valuable to examine how the government has adapted to changes in environmental conditions during the process of development, industrialization and globalization. Thus, the development trajectories of each country have been examined according to three key stages. Secondly, the book uses a comparative method, comparing a wide range of economic, social and political development indicators between the two countries. The comparison between two very different East Asian countries with distinctive social, economic and political systems and at different stages of development can be instructive to show whether the state-led East Asian model has changed, evolved, diminished, or is in terminal decline. Finally, the book uses a qualitative method to generate comprehensive country case studies that are essential to uncover the specific dynamics underlying different development trajectories and outcomes.