Race to the swift : state and finance in Korean industrialization /

Economists have tended to view Korea's development into an industrial nation only in terms of the pursuit of the "right" market-oriented policies. Woo argues that although Korea has developed along capitalist lines, the state played a direct interventionist role in the development process far greater than in Western capitalist economies. Because Japanese colonial administration suppressed all entrepreneurial activities in Korea, the Korean state had to "invert" and nurture a capitalist class to foster capitalist development. The mechanism for developing and nurturing this entrepreneurial class is subsidized finance. In addition to providing subsidized credit, the government directly determined which industries to promote and who participated in it. Korean governments had the strength to carry on such a far-reaching "revolution" in a heavy-handed way because Korea's position in the geopolitics of the Cold War. Korean governments were able to obtain enormous amounts of external resources from the US, and with the control over these resources, governments were able to overcome any domestic opposition to their development goals and strategies. This well-written book provides a fresh look at the "Korean miracle" that may not be easily replicated elsewhere. Woo is extremely successful in integrating politics, international relations, economic policy, and history to explain Korea's development as industrial giant. Highly recommended for all interested in development policy. -K. Gyimah-Brempong, Wright State University