After having been a Japanese colony for more than 35
years until 1945, the miraculous economic development in
the southern half of the Korean peninsula has multiplied
the nations output nearly 38 times and expanded per
capita income by 16 times from $778 to $12,422 (in year
2000 prices) and transformed from basically an agrarian
economy to that of a major industrial power, which is
now considered one of a dozen or so of most
industrialized countries in the world, during the
43-year period between 1953 and 1996. This book is a
study of development of the South Korean economy from
the time of the cessation of the Korean War to date,
based on available data with minimal historical
description, focusing on investment, the sources and
means of capital formation, which is one of the most
critical factors that contributed to economic
development, and the government role of in them for
economic growth and structural changes. The approach in
this study is more analytical (without being
mathematical, statistical, or technical, but with
supporting quantitative data) than historical. There are
a number of studies on some aspects of capital formation
and economic development in short articles, but there is
no comprehensive study/analysis/book of capital
formation and economic development of South Korea since
the Korean War, other than this authors comprehensive
study of capital formation and economic transformation
of Korea before 1945 (1[zasłonięte]876-19). Not only this book
fills the void of study of the subject after the Korean
War but it also complement my first volume. This study
reveals a number of significant, though perhaps not all
unique, patterns and characteristics of capital
formation and economic development of South Korea. The
combination of circumstances, approaches, and
experiences in the country was in many respects unique
in comparison to many developing and developed
countries, including many Asian countries, such as Japan
and China. |
|