The Long and Winding Road to Liberalization: The South Korean Experience

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter reviews Korea's experience with economic liberalization since the early 1980s. Section 1 provides a brief history of the economic liberalization policy in the broader context of the rise and fall of the Korean model of development. Section 2 analyzes the major economic consequences of the liberalization policy, including its impact on growth and distribution, the currency crisis, and the financial crisis. Section 3 examines the macroeconomic adjustments since the crisis, including the impact on the labor market and income distribution. Section 4 reviews the economic and social policy reforms that the government has pursued since the crisis. The concluding section draws some lessons on liberalization policy from the Korean experience.