Module description
Korea and other East Asian countries are considered to be exemplars of post-World War II economic development. Starting with Japan, continuing with Korea,Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, and following with China, several East Asian countries have shown that development is possible in the contemporary global system. Collectively known as Developmental states (DS), these countries serve as models for developing and emerging countries in other regions. Making use of an applied political economy approach, this module seeks to explain the political economy of Korean and East Asian development. The module will use Korea as the paramount case with which to analyse the reasons why East Asian countries have successfully developed and how the DS has transformed into the post-DS following the Asian and Global financial crises.
*Please note that module information is provisional and may change from year to year.
Assessment details
One 3000 word essay (100%)
Educational aims & objectives
The educational aim of this module is for students to learn about the political economy of East Asian development, with particular emphasis on Korea as the paramount case of the East Asian development state (DS). Students will learn about three interrelated areas: (1) the political economy of the origins, evolution and institutional characteristics of the economies of Korea, Japan as the original DS, the other tiger economies of Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, and the most recent DS of China in comparative perspective; (2) the political economy of the recent evolution and current state of Korea and the other East Asian economies in their post-developmental, developed country phase, especially in the aftermath of the Asian and Global financial crises, and (3) the applicability (or lack thereof) of the DS to other world regions in comparative perspective.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the module students will:
- Demonstrate knowledge about the history, evolution and current state of the study and research of the political economy of Korean and East Asian development.
- Have competence to select an appropriate mix of sources to critically assess the main empirical debates in the sub-fields of the political economies of the Developmental State, the Post-developmental State, and comparative development.
- Have the ability to identify and analyse the main similarities and differences across Korea and other East Asian developmental states.
- Critically evaluate the rationale, strengths and weaknesses of the Developmental State and the Post-developmental State.
- Identify, select and apply evidence from the literature to assess the political economy of Korean and East Asian development.
- Develop and apply techniques to conduct research on the political economy of Korean and East Asian Development.
Teaching pattern
Two hours per week, one lecture and one seminar
Suggested reading list
Core texts
- Yin-Wah Chu (ed.), The Asian Developmental State: Reexaminations and New Departures (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016)
- Peter Evans, Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995)
- Anil Hira, An East Asian Model for Latin American Success: The New Path (London: Routledge, 2007)
- Eun Mee Kim, Big Business, Strong State: Collusion and Conflict in South Korean Development, 1960-1990 (New York: State University of New York Press, 1997)
- Atul Kohli, State-Directed Development: Political Power and Industrialization in the Global Periphery (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004)
- Elizabeth Thurbon, Developmental Minset: The Revival of Financial Activism in South Korea (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2016)
- Meredith Woo-Cummings (ed.), The Developmental State (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999)