State and Industry in South Korea: The Limits of the Authoritarian State

The Journal of Asian Studies
"...Rhee's book is a good addition to a large body of literature that uses the institutional setting to explain economic outcomes."


Book Description
Jong-Chan Rhee examines the nature of Korea's "industrial miracle" and, in particular, the limitations of its authoritarian state as a vehicle for intervening in the market or for sponsoring liberal reform.


About the Author
Jong-Chan Rhee teaches in the Department of Political Science at Kyung Hee University, Seoul.


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The economic success of East Asia is often attributed to the relationship between state and business. In The State and Industry in South Korea - The Limits of the Authoritarian State, Jong-Chan Rhee presents a more balanced view of Korea's 'industrial miracle'. The book examines the limits of a strong authoritarian state as a vehicle for intervening in the market or for sponsoring liberal reform. In so doing the author focuses on why and how state-controlled industrial adjustment in Korea has succeeded and failed. This is clearly illustrated by an examination of unsuccessful state intervention in the heavy and chemical industrial sectors which led to the breakdown of the state-big business governing coalition. This is contrasted to the successful transformation of these same industries in the 1970s. However, the mid-1980s unsuccessful attempts at liberalization led to the failure of business-led industrial adjustment. Further insights into these limitations are provided by a comparison with state-industry relations in Japan and France. His new institutional approach gives a fresh theoretical framework beyond existing state theories by analytically integrating structure and agent in institutional arrangements.


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