Policy Analyses
RESEARCH
Policy Analyses
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Korea's Agricultural ODA Policy toward Africa
Currently over 3 hundred million people suffer from absolute poverty in Africa, which represents 40% of the population of the entire continent. Yet there is a bigger concern: it is highly likely that the population living in absol..
Young Ho Park et al. Date 2009.12.30
Economic Development, Economic CooperationDownloadContentSummaryCurrently over 3 hundred million people suffer from absolute poverty in Africa, which represents 40% of the population of the entire continent. Yet there is a bigger concern: it is highly likely that the population living in absolute poverty will increase to 4 billion by the year 2015. In 2001, the international community adopted the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to alleviate poverty and spur development in the world's poorest countries by 2015. However, it is predicted that Africa will fail to achieve many of the goals outlined in MDGs by the time given. There is a broad consensus that agricultural and rural development should be the priority in order to address the issue of poverty trap and initiate take-off economic development in African continent. It is because poverty in African is predominantly rural. More than 70 percent of the continent's poor people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for food and livelihood. Without a developed industrial sector that can contribute to the national growth, agriculture plays a role as a key industry in most of African countries. Yet, subsistence farming remains the main agricultural activity in Africa. In many countries, the rural situation is marked by continuing stagnation, poor production, low incomes and the rising vulnerability of poor people. Furthermore, conditions prevailing in African agriculture are dismal. African farmers are vulnerable to increasingly volatile environments, land degradation, and suffer from limited market access and decreases in foreign aid. While Asia and Latin America raised food production dramatically by expanding irrigation facilities, developing new varieties of crops and increasing the use of fertilizers, Africa is still at a standstill due to lack of basic fundamentals and poor natural and socio-economic environment.
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Analysis of North Korea's International Economic Activities and Policy Implications
North Korea is in the midst of an economic crisis that began back in the 1990s. Though statistics indicate a cycle of fluctuation between growth and downturns not unlike other economies, the North Korean economy remains in a disma..
Myung-Chul Cho et al. Date 2009.12.30
North Korean EconomyDownloadContentSummaryNorth Korea is in the midst of an economic crisis that began back in the 1990s. Though statistics indicate a cycle of fluctuation between growth and downturns not unlike other economies, the North Korean economy remains in a dismal state.
The crisis that befell North Korea's economy stems from a number of reasons, but it was necessarily brought on by the combination of international conflict arising from the nuclear issue and inefficiencies associated with planned economy operating in a closed environment. Therefore, a fundamental solution lay in the simultaneous establishment of peaceful diplomatic relations and opening of the hitherto self-contained economy. This would make possible massive influx of international aid, which could be coupled with increased efficiency from reform and opening, leading to potentially rapid growth.(The rest is omitted) -
싱가포르, 말레이시아, 인도네시아 3국의 서비스산업 비교 분석
When a country's per capital GDP increases, it is usually accompanied by a corresponding increase in the proportion of the country's services industry in the economy as a whole. This is the pattern exhibited by countries that this..
Kitae Sohn et al. Date 2009.12.30
Industrial Structure, Industrial PolicyDownloadContentSummaryWhen a country's per capital GDP increases, it is usually accompanied by a corresponding increase in the proportion of the country's services industry in the economy as a whole. This is the pattern exhibited by countries that this treatise examines in close detail; namely Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Case in point, when Singapore's per capita GDP was US$50347.1 in 2008, the proportion of Singapore's services industry to its economy stood at 65.6%. Indonesia, on the other hand, had a per capita GDP of US$3705.1 in the same year and the proportion of the services industry was 38.3%, representing less than half of its economy and trailing far behind figures for Singapore. It should be noted that even when Singapore's per capita GDP were similar to Indonesia's current level, its services industry consistently represented over 50% of its economy, mainly due to the fact that Singapore is an urban city-state with extremely low comparative advantage in terms of agricultural production.
As for policies relating to the services industry, Singapore and Malaysia were identical in that both countries designated high-value services industries as one of their main vehicles for economic growth alongside manufacturing; the only difference being that Singapore initiated the policy earlier, as Singapore's per capital GDP was higher during comparable periods. Yet the government of Indonesia, at present, is not making any earnest efforts to have its high-value services industry assume the role as the engine of the country's growth. The Indonesian emphasis on labor-intensive manufacturing and exploitation of mining resources instead of the services industry, is somewhat justified in light of the country's economic development in terms of its per capital GDP or the level of Indonesia's social infrastructure.
The three countries are in different phases in terms of trade and conditions for investment in the services industry; with Singapore's services industry being nearly totally open to the outside world, as opposed to still-substantial barriers to trade and investment in Indonesia's services industry. On the other hand, all three countries are exhibiting a common pattern in that they are lowering their barriers in services as well as manufacturing industries, in response to the establishment of free trade as the firm basis of the global economy and recognition of the positive impact of free trade upon economic growth.
This treatise evaluates the level of economic development of the three countries(Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia) through their services industries, and takes the analysis a step further in order to elicit key points and facts that will facilitate the entry of Korean firms into the various areas of the three countries' services markets including finance, distribution, transportation, and communications. Trade with the three countries already make up a significant portion of Korean investment into and trade with ASEAN, and it is likely to increase further when the Korea-ASEAN FTA goes into effect. This will create synergy between the real and services trade, as Korea makes inroads into services industries of the three countries in finance, distribution, transportation, and communications; which also form an important part of manufacturing process.
Though real trade is still predominant in trade between Korea and the three countries, opening of the services industry is expected to bring about an increase in trade in services. This would mean Korea's entry into services markets in ASEAN is actually predicated upon a full understanding of the services industries in ASEAN countries; and it is especially important that an understanding of the services industries of the three countries(Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia) should be the basis for formulation of all entry strategies.
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Korea's Overseas Direct Investment in Latin America: Its Performance and Challenges
Latin America has recently been receiving attention as a new market for investment as a result of the region's economic growth, and for its importance as the treasure house of natural resources. The multinational corporations of a..
Kisu Kwon et al. Date 2009.12.30
Economic Cooperation, Overseas Direct InvestmentDownloadContentSummaryLatin America has recently been receiving attention as a new market for investment as a result of the region's economic growth, and for its importance as the treasure house of natural resources. The multinational corporations of advanced economies including the United States, EU, and Japan, and corporations from emerging economies like China and India are increasing their investment to take advantage of the 'Latin America Opportunity.' The investments of multinational corporations are diversifying from simple assembly production of electrical and electronic equipments, textile, and automobile to IT services and bio-energy. Also, investment goals are changing from simply securing the market to gaining a firm foothold in the global market, and/or R&D investment.(The rest is omitted) -
A Study on Japan's Low Carbon Strategy
'Low Carbon Society' is a keyword in the 21st century. Many developed countries are trying to transform their economy into low carbon society, which is defined as a society limiting the emission of green house gases to such a leve..
Sung Chun Jung et al. Date 2009.12.30
Industrial Policy, Environmental PolicyDownloadContentSummary'Low Carbon Society' is a keyword in the 21st century. Many developed countries are trying to transform their economy into low carbon society, which is defined as a society limiting the emission of green house gases to such a level that there is no artificial harm to the climate system. Japan is one of those leading countries pursuing the value of low carbon society. Several visions and strategies were issued recently by Japanese government. These visions and strategies show that Japanese government has a strong will to change its society into low carbon society and at the same time to make use of climate challenges as a chance to boost economic activity.(The rest is omitted) -
The Development of Retail Industry in China and its Implications
China's retail industry has been growing rapidly since the liberalization of the distribution industry after China became a member of WTO. The increase of consumption due to the growth of disposable income affected the liberalizat..
Seungshin Lee et al. Date 2009.12.30
Economic Cooperation, Industrial PolicyDownloadContentSummaryChina's retail industry has been growing rapidly since the liberalization of the distribution industry after China became a member of WTO. The increase of consumption due to the growth of disposable income affected the liberalization process as well. In addition, the Chinese government's policies and measures that expanded domestic demand and acceleration of urbanization also facilitated the growth of consumption and retail industry.(The rest is omitted) -
External Adjustment under Increasing Integration in Korean Economy
In this paper, we study the external adjustment of Korea under international product and financial integration by examining the evolution of the external balances, changes in international transactions and trends of the terms of t..
Inkoo Lee et al. Date 2009.12.30
Economic Opening, Financial IntegrationDownloadContentI. Introduction
Ⅱ. Global Financial Crisis and External Balances of Korea
Ⅲ. External Adjustment under Integration
Ⅳ. Conclusions
References
SummaryIn this paper, we study the external adjustment of Korea under international product and financial integration by examining the evolution of the external balances, changes in international transactions and trends of the terms of trade. We first discuss changes in Korean external balances with a focus on the impacts of recent global financial crisis on the exchange rates and net exports in order to understand external adjustments by the external shocks. We then discuss external adjustment under increasing integration in Korean economy by examining changes in international transaction behaviors. We show that (1) trade channel supplements the net foreign debts in Korea, (2) Korea exhibits more risk sharing behavior under increasing economic integration, while home bias in equity market still remains as a puzzling phenomenon, and (3) a crucial factor contributing to the slowdown of private consumption has been a reduction of national income caused by a deterioration of the terms of trade. -
Trade Openness and Vertical Integration: Evidence from Korean Firm-Level Data
Using firm-level data on vertical integration of Korean manufacturers, the paper tests whether trade liberalization is an important determinant of firm's decision on vertical integration. We develop an empirical framework incorpor..
Hea-Jung Hyun et al. Date 2009.12.30
Business Management, Free TradeDownloadContentⅠ. Introduction
Ⅱ. Determinants of Vertical Integration: Literature Review
Ⅲ. Empirical Methodology
Ⅳ. Empirical Results
Ⅴ. Conclusions
References
Appendix
SummaryUsing firm-level data on vertical integration of Korean manufacturers, the paper tests whether trade liberalization is an important determinant of firm's decision on vertical integration. We develop an empirical framework incorporating trade openness into industrial organization models; transaction costs theory and theory of internal costs of management. The empirical results of the paper suggest that trade openness is negatively related with vertical integration. A further analysis on firm's decision among four types of organizational forms in international contexts, however, reveals that trade liberalization has positive impact on cross-border vertical integration while it is negatively correlated with domestic vertical integration. -
Portfolio Investment of Foreign Capital and its Impact on Stock and FX Market
Korea has lifted all the barriers against foreign capital in the 1990s, especially after the currency crisis in 1997. As a small open economy, the Korean economy became more volatile due to the movement of foreign capital after th..
Deok Ryong Yoon et al. Date 2009.12.30
Financial Liberalization, Financial SystemDownloadContentSummaryKorea has lifted all the barriers against foreign capital in the 1990s, especially after the currency crisis in 1997. As a small open economy, the Korean economy became more volatile due to the movement of foreign capital after the capital liberalization. This study focuses on the volatility caused by foreign portfolio investment in the stock market as well as in the foreign exchange market to find a way to stabilize the market.(The rest is omitted) -
Global Financial Crisis and Post-Crisis International Financial Architecture
This study examines the causes and results of global financial crisis, which was triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis in the U.S. It further suggests policy implications to overcome the crisis. Chapter 2 summarizes the causes..
Yonghyup Oh et al. Date 2009.12.30
Economic Integration, Financial CrisisDownloadContentSummaryThis study examines the causes and results of global financial crisis, which was triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis in the U.S. It further suggests policy implications to overcome the crisis. Chapter 2 summarizes the causes of the U.S. financial crisis and explains its effects on the economic recession. Chapter 3 focuses on the international transmission of the financial crisis in two aspects of both financial and foreign exchange crisis. In addition, it summarizes major countries' policy responses to get over the crisis countries being USA, EU, China, Japan and other Asian countries. The empirical analysis accounts for the international transmission of the financial crisis between the U.S. and Korean financial markets. Chapter 4 provides policy suggestions for national authorities and international cooperations, including the G-20 process at a global level and the CMIM (Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization) at a regional level. The last chapter is a conclusion that also looks at the G-20 process as a new feature of the post-crisis international economic order.(The rest is omitted)