The Korean economies

Professor Hwang's monograph sets out to analyse and compare the parallel developments of two rival economies. North and South Korea went separate ways in 1950, ignoring common historical and economic homogeneity, one establishing an autarkic socialism and the other a market-orientated capitalism.

Hwang analyses the Koreas' traditional interdependence and the economic consequences of the fratricidal war, giving a comparison of the two economies in terms of both the macroeconomic index and of living standards.

Hwang considers public finance within the economies and reveals state expenditure distribution between military and other uses. The two Koreas' external transactions and policies are investigated, revealing that the South's foreign dependency policy has recently proven increasingly more effective than the North's self-sufficiency. The final two chapters concentrate upon economic contacts between the North and South since September 1991, when the two Koreas became regular members of the United Nations.

Hwang argues that this will serve as a beginning of an era of mutual economic and political interaction, given the existing and potential comparative advantages of each, and within the context of Northeast Asian economic co-operation.

To provide a scholarly comparison of the two Koreas, given unreliable governmental information, is extremely difficult. Hwang provides statistical information which is an objective and consistent analysis of the respective economic performances and will be invaluable for those studying Korea, or the economies of Northeast Asia.