Public finances during the Korean modernization process /

This is one of the ten continuing studies on the economic and social modernization of Korea (South) undertaken so far jointly by the Harvard Institute for International Development and the Korea Development Institute. The volume focuses on the determinants and consequences of Korean government taxing and spending policies from 1953 through 1975. The authors make an interesting observation-that Korean policymakers started to apply supply-side fiscal policies about ten years before their American counterparts. These policies are analyzed in detail and include discussion of the maintenance of comparatively lower taxes, a smaller public sector, greater reliance on indirect taxes, liberal use of tax incentives for capital investment and export promotion, and finally large public savings. The authors also attempt to answer the question whether these policies can be replicated in other developing countries. Another noteworthy issue deals with the role of spending and taxing policies in the redistribution of income among different segments of Korean people. Appendixes contain a long series of tables on government revenues, expenditures, and tax rates. For those who wish to compare Korean experiences with those of some other developing countries, Alan R. Prest's Public Finance in Developing Countries (3rd ed., 1985) would be helpful. Upper-division and graduate students.-K.B. Lee, Skidmore College