The two books one by Amsden (1989) and Woo (1991) are interesting books.
Both discuss the role of the state (in Amsden the state as a latecomer and
borrower of technology and I should add institutions) and Woo the state as
a financier of economic transformation. Amsden is less critical of the
Korean state because her main target is the neoclassical orthodoxy. Korea
is a classic example of state-led development. Woo is more critical of
the Korean state (even though she acknowledges the leading role the state
has played in transforming Korean society) because of the repressive
nature of the state until recently. Both positions are appropriate on
their own terms. Marty Hart-Landsberg will come closer to Woo in the
understanding of Korean development.
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Anthony P. D'Costa (Upto December 12, 1997)
Associate Professor Senior Fellow
Comparative International Development Department of Economics
University of Washington National University of Singapore
1900 Commerce Street 10 Kent Ridge Crescent
Tacoma, WA 98402-3100 USA Singapore 119260
Ph: (253) 692-4462 FAX: (65) 775-2646
Fax: (253) 692-5612 Ph: (65) 874-6009
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] E-mail:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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On Fri, 12 Dec 1997, Rakesh Bhandari wrote:
> Perhaps someone could download the WSJ editorial from a few days ago by
> Professor Meredith Cumings Woo of Northwestern University? Her analysis
> seems to differ from Amsden's in important ways; for example, she seems to
> be quite a bit more critical of the kind of state monopoly
> capitalism that South Korea had practiced. For example, Woo expressed
> criticism of the way certain enterprises, in which bureaucrats had
> an important stake, had been subsidized simply on the basis of their size
> at the expense of more profitable smaller firms. Perhaps there are
> limits to how long more powerful firms can monopolize credit or set their
> prices in such a way as to stave off the fall in the average rate of
> profit at the the expense of smaller capitals?
>
> rb
>
>
