Korea: Industrial and Financial Restructuring

Abstract

The performance of the Korean economy over the last three decades is a constant reminder to the developing world that industrialization-based development strategies can be implemented successfully. Much of the research that has been done on the Korean experience has therefore focused on the question: can this experience be replicated in other developing countries? This is, by itself, too broad a question to have much significance because the Korean economy has undergone considerable transformations over the forty-six years since the country became a sovereign republic. Each phase in this transformation has been characterized by a more or less distinct set of national goals, and consequently, a distinct mix of strategies and policy instruments. A policy-maker seeking to learn from the Korean experience must first identify the particular phase of the evolution of the economy that most closely resembles the conditions prevailing in his own, and then analyse the relationships between goals and policies defining that phase.