Four years after the outbreak of the Asian economic crisis and three and one-half years after the beginning of the IMF program with Korea, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) jointly sponsored a conference on the Korean crisis and recovery. The conference was held at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul on May 17-19, 2001.The objective of the conference was to distill lessons from the Korean economic crisis and recovery, and the policies adopted by the government with support from the international community. The timing of the conference, coming after the three-year Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF ended on December 2, 2000, and following two years of remarkable economic recovery from the crisis, seemed appropriate for such an assessment. The conference brought together Korean and non-Korean economists with Korean policymakers and IMF and World Bank staff, some of whom were involved in designing and implementing the Korean program. Holding the conference in Seoul, with broadly equal participation by Koreans and non-Koreans, was considered essential to ensure that Korean perspectives on the crisis were well represented.

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Contributors and Participants

1. Introduction / David T. Coe and Kim, Se-Jik

2. From Crisis to Recovery in Korea: Strategy, Achievements, and Lessons / Ajai Chopra, Kenneth Kang, Meral Karasulu, Hong Liang, Henry Ma, and Anthony Richards

3. What Have We Learned from the Korean Economic Adjustment Program? / Cho, Yoon Je

Comments on Papers 2 and 3
Barry Eichengreen
Lee, Jang-Yung

4. New Evidence on High Interest Rate Policy During the Korean Crisis / Chung, Chae-Shick ; Kim, Se-Jik

5. Falling Profitability, Higher Borrowing Costs, and Chaebol Finances During the Korean Crisis / Anne O. Krueger ; Yoo, Jungho

Comments on Papers 4 and 5
Chung, Myung-Chang
Bijan B. Aghevli

6. Corporate Restructuring and Reform : Lessons from Korea / William P. Mako

7. The Role of Corporate Bond Markets in the Korean Financial Restructuring Process / Gyutaeg Oh and Changyong Rhee

Comments on Papers 6 and 7
Simon Johnson
Cho, Won-Dong

8. The Korean Labor Market : The Crisis and After / Kim, Dae Il

9. Corporate Governance and Corporate Debt in Asian Crisis Countries / Eric Friedman, Simon Johnson, and Todd Mitton

Comments on Papers 8 and 9
Jang, Hasung
Zia Qureshi

10. Economic Growth in East Asia Before and After the Financial Crisis / Robert J. Barro

11. Recovery and Sustainability in East Asia / Park, Yung Chul ; Lee, Jong-Wha

Comments on Papers 10 and 11
Charles Adams
Kim, Yong Jin

12. Restructuring Korean Banks' Short-Term Debts / Kim, Woochan ; Byeon, Yangho

13. Strengthening the International Financial Architecture : Open Issues, Asian Concerns / Barry Eichengreen

14. A Framework for Exchange Rate Policy in Korea / Michael Dooley; Rudi Dornbusch ; Park, Yung Chul

Comments on Papers 12,13, and 14
Anne O. Krueger
Kim, Jun Il

Conference Program