How did a country with a dearth of natural resources, a sprawling population congested in a limited arable land transform itself to a modern industrial state within a generation? How could these have been achieved given the lingering geopolitical threats to its very survival as a state, as evidenced by the Korean War and the internecine aggressive posturing of its neighbor from the north? This book looks at strategies, institutional arrangement, role of entrepreneurs and workers in this odyssey, and on how those factors have worked together through effective leadership to transform South Korea’s economic fortunes.

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.

Korea's financial development has been a tale of liberalization and opening but the new system has failed to steer the country away from financial crises. This study analyzes the changes in the financial system and finds that financial liberalization has contributed little to grow and stabilize the Korean economy.

"South Korea has been held out as an economic miracle—as a country that successfully completed the transition from underdeveloped to developed country status—and as an example of how a middle-income country can continue to move up the technology ladder into the production and export of more sophisticated goods and services. But with these successes have come challenges, among them poverty, inequality, long work hours, financial instability, and complaints about the economic and political power of the country’s large corporate conglomerates, or chaebol. The Korean Economy provides an overview of Korean economic experience since the 1950s, with a focus on the period since democratization in 1987. Successive chapters analyze the Korean experience from the perspectives of political economy, the growth record, industrial organization and corporate governance, financial development and instability, labor and employment, inequality and social policy, and Korea’s place in the world economy. A concluding chapter describes the country’s economic challenges going forward and how they can best be met. The volume also serves to summarize the findings of companion volumes in the Harvard–Korean Development Institute series on the Korean economy, also published by the Harvard University Asia Center."

"An explanation for Korea's economic success"--

This study presents a perspective on Korea's economic development since the 1960s in the light of domestic and international changes that are forcing Korea to make far-reaching adjustments in its economic policies. Soon Cho is a former Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea.

This book explores South Korea's phenomenal economic rise and the impact that this has had on the country's foreign policy.