The State and the economy in South Korea: from the developmentist state to the Asian crisis and later recovery.

Vol. 30 No. 1 (2010)

jan-Mar / 2010
Published January 1, 2010
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))

How to Cite

Guimarães, Alexandre Queiroz. 2010. “The State and the Economy in South Korea: From the Developmentist State to the Asian Crisis and Later Recovery.”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 30 (1):45-62. https://centrodeeconomiapolitica.org.br/repojs/index.php/journal/article/view/429.

The State and the economy in South Korea: from the developmentist state to the Asian crisis and later recovery.

Alexandre Queiroz Guimarães
Ph.D. em Politics – Sheffield University, Professor do Mestrado em Administração Pública, Escola de Governo, Fundação João Pinheiro.
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 30 No. 1 (2010), jan-Mar / 2010, Pages 45-62

Abstract

The article focuses on the institutions of South Korean capitalism and on the interactions between the state and the economy. The economic model in South Korea was characterized by a very interventionist state, which played a very active role in the process of industrialization. However, South Korea suffered a severe crisis in 1997, attributed by many authors to the distortions inherent to strong state intervention. The article shows that the crisis was a result of the combination between internal economic fragilities and a rapid process of financial deregulation, which undermined the states capacity of control. The crisis, nevertheless, does not disqualify the role of the national institutions in the very successful process of industrialization. Despite the reforms, the Korean capitalism conserves much of the previous model of business organization and industrial relations. The state continues strong and played active role in the process of economic reforms. There are, nevertheless, doubts about the impacts of the reforms and the new configuration of Korean capitalism. They will depend on the current transformations in world economy and in the East Asian countries.

JEL Classification: P16; P52; O53; N40; N45.


Keywords: South Korea developmental state models of capitalism Asian crisis institutions and development