The Political Economy of Successful Reform: Asian Stratagems
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Major economic reforms are often politically difficult, causing pain to voters and provoking unrest. They may be opposed by politicians with short time horizons. They may collide with the established ideology and an entrenched ruling party. They may be resisted by bureaucrats and by vested interests. Obstacles to major economic reform can be daunting in democratic and autocratic polities alike.
And yet, somehow, past leaders of today's Asian dragons did implement vital economic reforms. The paper recounts the political maneuvers used by leaders of economic reform in Asia during these pivotal eras: China under Deng Xiaoping; India in the 1990s; Thailand under General Prem Tinsulanonda; Vietnam's Doi Moi; South Korea under Park Chung Hee; and Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew.
The last part of the paper classifies these maneuvers as responses to the main political barriers to reform. It serves as a "playbook" of tactics for economic reformers. For example, to overcome ideological baggage, the reformers packaged reforms as means to strengthen the party in power. They reformed gradually, initially seeking win-win compromises. They blessed pro-market violations as pilot projects. They even created new provinces to dilute the anti-reform vote.
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Stanford Center for International Development
Political Change in China: Comparisons with Taiwan
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How might China become a democracy? And what lessons, if any, might Taiwan's experience of democratization hold for China's future? The authors of this volume consider these questions, both through comparisons of Taiwan's historical experience with the current period of economic and social change in the PRC, and through more focused analysis of China's current, and possible future, politics.This volume explores current, and possible future, political change in China in the context of Taiwan's experience of democratization.
Table of Contents
- Comparing and Rethinking Political Change in China and Taiwan - B. Gilley.
- Civil Society and the State. The Evolution of Political Values - Y.H. Chu.
- Intellectual Pluralism and Dissent - M. Goldman and A. Esarey.
- Religion and the Emergence of Civil Society - R. Madsen.
- Business Groups: For or Against the Regime? - D.J. Solinger.
- Regime Responses. Responsive Authoritarianism - R.P. Weller.
- Developing the Rule of Law - R. Peerenboom and W. Chen.
- Competitive Elections - T.J. Cheng and G. Lin.
- International Pressures and Domestic Pushback - J. deLisle.
- Looking Forward. Taiwan's Democratic Transition: A Model for China? - B. Gilley.
- Why China's Democratic Transition Will Differ from Taiwan's - L. Diamond.
Author's Biography
Bruce Gilley is assistant professor of political studies at Queen's University in Canada. His numerous publications include China's Democratic Future, Model Rebels: The Rise and Fall of China's Richest Village, and Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China's New Elite. Larry Diamond is senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and also at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and founding coeditor of the Journal of Democracy. Most recent of his many works on democracy and democratization are Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation and Promoting Democracy in the 1990s.
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Lynne Rienner Publishers
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1588265935
McCain's proposed North Korea policy is repeat of Bush's failed policy, says Sneider
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"The policy that John McCain proposes is the policy that George W. Bush pursued--and that policy failed," says Shorenstein APARC's associate director for research Daniel C. Sneider tells Slate magazine in an interview.
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Eberhart discusses Japanese corporate governance reforms
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A multitude of corporate governance reforms were enacted in Japan from 1997-2005. As a result of one of those reforms, beginning in 2003 Japanese companies had the option of choosing a committee system of corporate governance, one partially modeled on the American system, rather than the auditor system.
On May 14, SPRIE Researcher Robert Eberhart spoke at a SPRIE seminar about his current research assessing the effect of the Japanese reforms and the question of whether the corporate system in Japan will ultimately be converging with the Western model.
We compared two groups of committee system and auditor system companies and found that the firms using committee system governance, the so-called American model, were significantly valued higher as measured by Tobin's q--thirty- and forty-percent higher.
In researching the performance of Japanese companies under the committee system, Eberhart's current study has found significantly (30%-40%) higher Tobin's q scores for those companies following the committee system over those following the auditor system. This observation seems independent of other financial variables differentiating these companies. The research focused on 63 companies in the pharmacueuticals, electronics, and machine industries.
Tobin's q is the ratio of a firm's market cap to the replacement value of its assets. Since the change in Tobin's q was immediate, based on monthly data, this suggests a change in market evaluation, Eberhart noted, since the asset value would not have changed so quickly.
One possibility, Eberhart ventured, is that by opening themselves up to the committee system, management is indicating a confidence in the veracity of the firm's fiscal monitoring system, and the market is responding to that confidence.
Eberhart concluded by noting that these results are preliminary and further research is necessary to precisely determine the nature of these performance differences.
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North Korea: Energy and Nuclear Technology
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With the collapse of Soviet Union and a lack of internal energy resources, North Korea has been in economic hardships since early 1990s. Chung will discuss how the shortage of electric power has affected not only the operations of factories but the daily lives of North Koreans. He will also examine how North Korea has attempted to rehabilitate its energy sector internally and in external relations with neighboring countries as well as in the Six-Party Talks.
Lee will evaluate North Korean nuclear technology based on his analysis of North Korea’s National Science and Technology Development Plan and of its historical background. He
will examine the priorities in disabling of North Korea’s nuclear capacity.
Joon Young Chung is a reporter at Yonhap News, a Korean news wire service, and has worked in various departments including the national desk, business desk and the North Korea desk for the past 14 years. Recently he has covered Inter-Korean Dialogue and the Six-Party Talks.
Choongeun Lee is a Research Fellow at the Science & Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) in Korea. Before joining STEPI, he worked at the Yanbian University of Science & Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, and Peking University in China. He received his B.A. and Ph.D. in engineering from Seoul National University in Korea, and Ph.D. in education from Beijing Normal University in China.
Daniel and Nancy Okimoto Conference Room
Joon Young Chung
Shorenstein APARC
Stanford University
Encina Hall E301
Stanford, CA 94305-6055
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joonych@stanford.edu
Chung,_Joon_Young_.jpg
Joon Young Chung is a reporter at Yonhap News, a Korean news wire service, and has worked in various departments including the national desk, business desk and the North Korea desk for the past 14 years. Recently he has covered Inter-Korean dialogue and the Six-Party talks.
Choongeun Lee
Shorenstein APARC
Encina Hall, Room E301
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6055
1
cglee@stepi.re.kr
Choongeun_Lee_1.jpg
PhD
Choongeun Lee is a Research Fellow at the Science & Technology Policy Institute(STEPI, Korea). Before joining STEPI, he worked at the Yanbian University of Science & Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, and Peking University in China. He received his B.A. and Ph. D in engineering from Seoul National University in Korea, and Ph.D. in education from Beijing Normal University in China.
His research has concentrated on science and technology systems (S&T) and policy of North Korea, China, and other transition countries. His recent publications include Linking strategy of military and civil innovation system based on recent change in security posture on Korean peninsula (2007, STEPI), Education and S&T System in North Korea (2006, Kyongin Publishing Co.), Nuclear Bomb and Technology in North Korea (2005, Itreebook), The S&T System and Policy of North Korea (2005, Hanulbooks), The S&T Cooperation of North Korea-China and its Implication (2005, North Korean Studies Review).
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