The Tortuous Path of South Korean Economic Development

This book explains that South Korea has transformed itself from a developing to a developed country through a tortuous path.

Jaymin Lee (Author)

9781009419321, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 December 2023

494 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 3 cm, 0.913 kg

'There have been numerous books written about South Korea's rapid development in the latter half of the twentieth century. Jaymin Lee, in this important contribution to our understanding of the Korean experience brings the story up to the present and puts that experience in the much broader context of the country's history, its politics, and its challenging international environment. It is a major work that should be read by both newcomers and specialists.' Dwight H. Perkins, Harold Hitchings Burbank Research Professor of Political Economy, Harvard University

This book explains how South Korea has uniquely transformed itself from a developing to a developed country by combining economic analysis with historical perspective, an approach badly needed but rarely taken by previous studies. The book shows that the country has done so through a tortuous process. It first explains how Korea failed earlier in history to emerge as a developing rather than a developed country after the Second World War but South Korea began to grow rapidly in the 1960s. It then explains that the country has sustained growth while undergoing recurring crises, examining three conditions for sustaining growth: macroeconomic management, structural transformation, and social conflict management. While doing so, the book interprets some important subjects differently from the previous studies; it also explains some other important subjects they have not covered sufficiently. The book finally discusses questions for the future briefly.

1. South Korean Economic Development in Perspective
2. The Great Tradition that Failed
3. Some Lights in the Dark
4. Kicking Off the Miracle
5. Contours of the High Economic Growth
6. Industrial Policy and Chaebol
7. Growth with Equity?
8. Crisis and Reform
9. The Slowing Engine of Growth
10. Industrial Policy and Firms
11. Inequality, Jobs, and Welfare
12. Questions for the Future
Appendices
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Development economics & emerging economies [KCM]