Restructuring 'Korea Inc.': Financial Crisis, Corporate Reform, and Institutional Transition

by Shin; Jang-Sup

• ISBN13: 9780415278652
• ISBN10: 0415278651
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-02-14
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The 1997 South Korean financial crisis not only shook the country itself but also sent shock waves through the financial world at large. This impressive book critically assesses the conventional wisdom surrounding the Korean crisis and the performance of the IMF-sponsored reform programme. Looking first at the strengths and weaknesses of 'Korea Inc.' in comparison with other East Asian countries, the authors describe the challenges faced by Korea in the 1990s due to the acceleration of globalization. By arguing that the transition attempted by Korea was badly conceived and ill designed,Restructuring 'Korea Inc.'focuses on corporate reform after the crisis that has led to the running up of huge 'transition costs'. This snappy, informative and readable book has a broad historical overview and with its suggestions for structural change for Korea. This book is an important contribution not only to Asian studies, but also to the study of financial crises and the political economy of economicreform.

Author Biography

Ha-Joon Chang teaches at the Faculty of Economics and Politics, University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

List of figures	xv
List of tables	xvi
Acknowledgements	xviii
Restructuring Korea Inc.: the 1997 financial crisis and structural reform	1	(6)
Structure of the book	4	(3)
The Korean model in historical perspective	7	(27)
Gerschenkron's `patterns of industrialisation' and the Korean model	8	(3)
East Asian catching-up models	11	(11)
The role of the state	22	(4)
The role of the chaebols	26	(7)
Concluding remarks	33	(1)
The 1997 financial crisis and its aftermath	34	(49)
Evolution of the crisis	34	(8)
The alleged causes of the financial crisis	42	(11)
The aftermath of the crisis: the IMF programme and the Keynesian recovery	53	(12)
Explaining the Korean crisis: a `transition failure'	65	(16)
Concluding remarks	81	(2)
Assessing the post-1997 corporate reform	83	(36)
Restructuring the chaebols	84	(19)
Attracting foreign investment	103	(6)
Nurturing venture businesses	109	(3)
Transition costs in `restructuring Korea Inc.'	112	(5)
Concluding remarks	117	(2)
Conclusion: what future for Korea?	119	(11)
Future implications of the post-1997 reform	120	(2)
The need for a `second-stage catching-up system' for the Korean economy	122	(7)
Some final thoughts	129	(1)
Notes	130	(12)
References	142	(10)
Index	152