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Institutions and growth in Korea and Taiwan: The bureaucracy

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  • Tun-Jen Cheng
  • Stephan Haggard
  • David Kang

Abstract

How do competent bureaucracies emerge in developing countries? We examine bureaucratic reform in Korea and Taiwan and argue that in both cases political leaders had an interest in reforming the civil service to carry out their programmatic initiatives. In addition, both governments undertook organisational reforms that made certain parts of the bureaucracy more meritocratic, while utilising centralised and insulated pilot agencies' in overall policy coordination. However, we reject the approach to bureaucratic reform that focuses primarily on its efficiency-enhancing effects. If delegation, bureaucratic and policy reform provided an easily available solution to the authoritarian's dilemma, dictators would have more uniformly positive economic records. Rather, we analyse the political and institutional constraints under which governing elites operate. In doing so, we underscore several important variations in the design of bureaucratic organisation, which in turn mirror larger policy differences between the two countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Tun-Jen Cheng & Stephan Haggard & David Kang, 1998. "Institutions and growth in Korea and Taiwan: The bureaucracy," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(6), pages 87-111.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:34:y:1998:i:6:p:87-111
    DOI: 10.1080/00220389808422547
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    1. Chang, Ha-Joon, 1993. "The Political Economy of Industrial Policy in Korea," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 17(2), pages 131-157, June.
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    1. Ha-Joon Chang & Ali Cheema & L. Mises, 2002. "Conditions For Successful Technology Policy In Developing Countries—Learning Rents, State Structures, And Institutions," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(4-5), pages 369-398.
    2. Sanjaya Lall, 2013. "Reinventing Industrial Strategy: The Role Of Government Policy In Building Industrial Competitiveness," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 14(2), pages 785-829, November.
    3. Tomasz Legiędź, 2016. "Transformacja ekonomiczna i polityczna na Tajwanie," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 6, pages 115-135.
    4. Resnick, Danielle, 2019. "Strong democracy, weak state: The political economy of Ghana’s stalled structural transformation," IFPRI book chapters, in: Ghana’s economic and agricultural transformation: Past performance and future prospects, chapter 3, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Keefer, Philip, 2004. "A review of the political economy of governance : from property rights to voice," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3315, The World Bank.
    6. Frank Siedlok & Natasha Hamilton‐Hart & Hsiao‐Chen Shen, 2022. "Taiwan's COVID‐19 Response: The Interdependence of State and Private Sector Institutions," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(1), pages 190-216, January.
    7. Dong-Hwan Kim & Jesse Campbell, 2015. "Development, Diversification, and Legitimacy: Emergence of the Committee-Based Administrative Model in South Korea," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 551-564, December.
    8. Francisco Garcia-Blanch, 2001. "An Empirical Inquiry into the Nature of South Korean Economic Growth," CID Working Papers 74A, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    9. Gans-Morse, Jordan & Borges, Mariana & Makarin, Alexey & Mannah-Blankson, Theresa & Nickow, Andre & Zhang, Dong, 2018. "Reducing bureaucratic corruption: Interdisciplinary perspectives on what works," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 171-188.
    10. Abdelkader Sid Ahmed, 2000. "Le paradigme rentier en question : l'expérience des pays arabes producteurs de brut. Analyse et éléments de stratégie," Revue Tiers Monde, Programme National Persée, vol. 41(163), pages 501-521.
    11. Ouyang, Hongwu Sam, 2006. "Agency problem, institutions, and technology policy: Explaining Taiwan's semiconductor industry development," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 1314-1328, November.
    12. Tianbiao Zhu, 2006. "Rethinking Import-substituting Industrialization: Development Strategies and Institutions in Taiwan and China," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-76, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Mehdi Farashahi & Taïeb Hafsi, 2009. "Strategy of firms in unstable institutional environments," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 643-666, December.
    14. Haggard Stephan & Zheng Yu, 2013. "Institutional innovation and investment in Taiwan: the micro-foundations of the developmental state," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 15(4), pages 435-466, December.
    15. Karo , Erkki & Kattel , Rainer, 2015. "Innovation Bureaucracy: Does the organization of government matter when promoting innovation?," Papers in Innovation Studies 2015/38, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    16. Stark, Manuel & Ahrens, Joachim, 2012. "Economic reform and institutional change in Central Asia: Towards a new model of the developmental state?," PFH Forschungspapiere/Research Papers 2012/05, PFH Private University of Applied Sciences, Göttingen.
    17. Li-Ju Lin & Yu-Chang Hsu & Andrew E. Scharlach & Hsien-Wen Kuo, 2019. "Examining Stakeholder Perspectives: Process, Performance and Progress of the Age-Friendly Taiwan Program," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-9, February.
    18. Matthew A. Shapiro, 2012. "Receiving information at Korean and Taiwanese universities, industry, and GRIs," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 90(1), pages 289-309, January.

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