Korean Economic Development: An Interpretive Model

Kuznets focuses on the four key characteristics of South Korean economic development since the mid-1960s: relatively high investment rates, labor market competition, export orientation, and a strong, interventionist government. He uses an informal model to simplify the complex relations that underlie Korea’s outstanding growth and also assesses the relevance of the model for other countries. The work is designed to be read by non-specialists, in that no prior knowledge of Korea has been assumed. The work concentrates on economic issues, and policy choices are of particular interest. References are made to English-language literature on economic development in general and on Korean development in particular.