College Notes (Lectures) Economy: East Asia (5182KE50)

Economy East Asia
Contents
Lecture 1 – 7-9 – East Asia in the Era of Globalization............................................................................2
Lecture 2 – 14-9 – Economic development in East Asian Country (I) China............................................9
Lecture 3 – 21-9 – economic development in East Asian country (II) Japan.........................................19
Lecture 4 – 28-9 – economic development in East Asia: South Korea..................................................29
Lecture 5 – 5-10 – the developmental state model in East Asia...........................................................39
Lecture 6 – 12-10 – corporation groups and networks in east Asian countries....................................48
Lecture 7 – 26-10 – financial sectors in East Asian Countries...............................................................58
Lecture 8 – 2-11 – 2020........................................................................................................................70
Lecture 9 – 9-11 – labour markets and employment relations in east Asia..........................................79
Lecture 10 – 16-11 – innovation and the new economy in East Asia....................................................90
Lecture 11 – 23-11 – environmental problems and environmental governance in East Asia.............101
Lecture 12 – 30-11 – east Asian regionalism......................................................................................113




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,Lecture 1 – 7-9 – East Asia in the Era of Globalization
Aim

- Course introduction
- Engage in preliminary discussions on the characteristics of the political economy of East Asia
- Explore analytical frameworks to study the political economy of East Asia

Course objectives

- Acquire a sound knowledge of the development of east Asian economy in the post-war era
(with a focus on the recent development)
- Critical thinking and analysis of economic development models, financial sectors,
industrialization processes, Asian financial crisis, employment system, environmental
governance, and regional economic integration in East Asia
- Formulate original research questions and conduct effective research activities in various
forms on the subject
- Critical analysis of relevant academic literature and research essay writings at corresponding
academic levels

Assignments

- Mid-term exam 30%: 2 hour at home exam answering 2 questions out of 3 to 5 questions
covering lesson 1 to 6 (you will be penalized after 1 hour late submission) (referencing is not
mandatory) (open book)
- Final exam 40%: 3 hour at home exam answering 3 or 4 questions out of multiple questions
covering lesson 1 to 12 (you will be penalized after 1 hour late submission) (referencing is not
mandatory) (open book)
- Tutorial assignments 30%: 2 assignments (1500 words essay (20%) and reading reports
(10%))

East Asia

- Contains some of the world’s most important and distinctive political economies
o Post WWII: war torn countries (Japan)
o Japanese colonization
o Encompasses 4% (1960s) to 25% (mid-1990s) to 30% (mid-2010s) of the world GDP
 Currently much larger
- Undoubted economic and strategic weight
o China 2nd largest economy in the world
Japan 3rd largest largest economy in the world
Korea 11th largest economies in the world (and regional)
o Regional and global economic impact
- Under global pressures and influences
o Globalization
o US
o Europe
o Regional pressures and influences
 China
 Japan


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,  South Korea
- But states are highly resilient and East Asia is exploring ways of cooperating on a regional and
global basis
o Maintain own characteristics
o Resilience

Globalisation

- Global pressure
- Globalisation = A decisive configuration of social, economic, political, and cultural changes
which consequently has transformed key institutions and practices of the modern world
(Scholte 2000)
o Political economy
o Global economy influencing the regional economy
- Three key characteristics
o Capitalist expansion
 Increase of international trade
 Development of financial transactions
 internationalization of production
 increased operations of multilateral/multinational corporations
o Changing roles of the states
 Globalization can be supported/enhanced or resisted by the state
 External pressure
 Provide internal security
 Reproduction of compliant working classes
 Flexible labour market
 Provide concessions and inducements to attract multinational corporations
 Remove barriers to capitalist expansion or accumulation
 Change regulatory frameworks to enhance or block liberalization and
internationalization
 State’s role does not diminish fully due to global pressures
 Maybe constrained
 Proactive roles of the state
o Flexibilization of labour
 The redistribution of risks away from the state and the economy towards the
individual
 Individual responsibility
 Personal welfare
 Less protections of workers by the state
 Competitive
 Productive
 Agility
 Etc.
 Shift towards free and competitive market in production and labour
 Changing production system imposes pressure on production
 Efficiency
 Productivity
 just-in-time production


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,  Etc.

Regionalization in East Asia

 Responses/attitudes to globalization of East Asian countries?
o Unenthusiastic about the neoliberal model
 Globalization
 Liberalization
 deregulation
 minimal government
o Friction between USA and a number of East Asian countries
 For example: USA criticized Japan’s protectionism (tariffs)
 For example: USA criticized China for trade imbalance
 Frictions and tensions
 Attitudes towards globalization
- However, there is an underlying process of economic restructuring
- Drawn into an expanding web of capitalist production structures
o Corporations expand their markets into the regional economies
o Resistance against neoliberal
o But more liberal markets is what capitalist producers want
o They get drawn in
- Regional integration in East Asia has been driven primarily by the uncoordinated impact of
corporate restructuring and investment in the region
o Rather than proactive state initiative
o Consequence of expanded multinational corporations, production networks,
corporate restructure, increasing flow of money into (Chinese) economy

Ambiguous impact of globalization

- The impacts of multinational corporations (MNCs) are uneven
o China is more heavily impacted by globalization than for example Malaysia
 Ambiguous
 There is no single best practice
 Depending on different industrial sectors
 Different challenges
 Different pressures
 National identity
- Different industrial sectors present different organizational challenges and company
strategies differ as a consequence
- The underlying logic of production is different in textile, automotive, resource, or service
sector industries
- Some regions of the world will be integrated into the global economy differently depending
on particular attractions in each region and country
o China inevitably attracts all attention from all over the world as opposed to for
example Japan
o Some economies are more integrated into the world economy than others
o China used to and might still have cheap labour
o Geopolitical positions can attract attention
o Geographical locations can attract attention

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