Korea’s Challenges Ahead—Lessons from Japan’s Experience

Korea’s Challenges Ahead—Lessons from Japan’s Experience

Author: Ms.Edda Zoli

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2017-01-18

Total Pages: 18

ISBN-13: 1475568886

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This paper draws out the parallels between Korea and Japan in terms of demographics, potential growth, balance sheets, asset prices and inflation. Korea’s demographic trends seem to track Japan’s with a lag of about 20 years. Low productivity in the service sector and labor market duality are common to both countries and need to be addressed with structural reforms. While Korea’s corporate balance sheets are stronger than Japan’s in the early 1990s, Korea needs to progress with the restructuring of nonviable firms to avoid the adverse consequences of delayed balance-sheet repair that Japan experienced. Given its strong fiscal balance sheet position, Korea can afford using fiscal policy actively to incentivize corporate restructuring and structural reforms and cushion their possible short-term adverse impact. Korea can prevent bubbles in asset prices that were at the origin of Japan’s initial crisis with the continued use of macroprudential policies. Although Korea does not appear to be headed toward deflation, new econometric analysis presented in the paper suggests that aging will exert a downward drag on its inflation going forward.


Book Synopsis Korea’s Challenges Ahead—Lessons from Japan’s Experience by : Ms.Edda Zoli

Download or read book Korea’s Challenges Ahead—Lessons from Japan’s Experience written by Ms.Edda Zoli and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2017-01-18 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper draws out the parallels between Korea and Japan in terms of demographics, potential growth, balance sheets, asset prices and inflation. Korea’s demographic trends seem to track Japan’s with a lag of about 20 years. Low productivity in the service sector and labor market duality are common to both countries and need to be addressed with structural reforms. While Korea’s corporate balance sheets are stronger than Japan’s in the early 1990s, Korea needs to progress with the restructuring of nonviable firms to avoid the adverse consequences of delayed balance-sheet repair that Japan experienced. Given its strong fiscal balance sheet position, Korea can afford using fiscal policy actively to incentivize corporate restructuring and structural reforms and cushion their possible short-term adverse impact. Korea can prevent bubbles in asset prices that were at the origin of Japan’s initial crisis with the continued use of macroprudential policies. Although Korea does not appear to be headed toward deflation, new econometric analysis presented in the paper suggests that aging will exert a downward drag on its inflation going forward.

Connecting People with Jobs Towards Better Social and Employment Security in Korea

Connecting People with Jobs Towards Better Social and Employment Security in Korea

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2018-03-14

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 9264288252

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This report has a special focus on low-income groups, jobseekers and workers, and policies geared towards closing the considerable gaps these groups are facing around income and employment support in Korea. It concludes that significant additional action will be needed to make income...


Book Synopsis Connecting People with Jobs Towards Better Social and Employment Security in Korea by : OECD

Download or read book Connecting People with Jobs Towards Better Social and Employment Security in Korea written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2018-03-14 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report has a special focus on low-income groups, jobseekers and workers, and policies geared towards closing the considerable gaps these groups are facing around income and employment support in Korea. It concludes that significant additional action will be needed to make income...

Extreme Economies

Extreme Economies

Author: Richard Davies

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2020-01-14

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 1250170508

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A New Statesman best book of the year | New York Times Editors' Choice pick A Financial Times best economics book of 2019 An accessible, story-driven look at the future of the global economy, written by a leading expert To predict our future, we must look to the extremes. So argues the economist Richard Davies, who takes readers to the margins of the modern economy and beyond in his globe-trotting book. From a prison in rural Louisiana where inmates purchase drugs with prepaid cash cards to the poorest major city on earth, where residents buy clean water in plastic bags, from the world’s first digital state to a prefecture in Japan whose population is the oldest in the world, how these extreme economies function—most often well outside any official oversight—offers a glimpse of the forces that underlie human resilience, drive societies to failure, and will come to shape our collective future. While the people who inhabit these places have long been dismissed or ignored, Extreme Economies revives a foundational idea from medical science to turn the logic of modern economics on its head, arguing that the outlier economies are the place to learn about our own future. Whether following Punjabi migrants through the lawless Panamanian jungle or visiting a day-care for the elderly modeled after a casino, Davies brings a storyteller’s eye to places where the economy has been destroyed, distorted, and even turbocharged. In adapting to circumstances that would be unimaginable to most of us, the people he encounters along the way have helped to pioneer the economic infrastructure of the future. At once personal and keenly analytical, Extreme Economies is an epic travelogue for the age of global turbulence, shedding light on today’s most pressing economic questions.


Book Synopsis Extreme Economies by : Richard Davies

Download or read book Extreme Economies written by Richard Davies and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2020-01-14 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New Statesman best book of the year | New York Times Editors' Choice pick A Financial Times best economics book of 2019 An accessible, story-driven look at the future of the global economy, written by a leading expert To predict our future, we must look to the extremes. So argues the economist Richard Davies, who takes readers to the margins of the modern economy and beyond in his globe-trotting book. From a prison in rural Louisiana where inmates purchase drugs with prepaid cash cards to the poorest major city on earth, where residents buy clean water in plastic bags, from the world’s first digital state to a prefecture in Japan whose population is the oldest in the world, how these extreme economies function—most often well outside any official oversight—offers a glimpse of the forces that underlie human resilience, drive societies to failure, and will come to shape our collective future. While the people who inhabit these places have long been dismissed or ignored, Extreme Economies revives a foundational idea from medical science to turn the logic of modern economics on its head, arguing that the outlier economies are the place to learn about our own future. Whether following Punjabi migrants through the lawless Panamanian jungle or visiting a day-care for the elderly modeled after a casino, Davies brings a storyteller’s eye to places where the economy has been destroyed, distorted, and even turbocharged. In adapting to circumstances that would be unimaginable to most of us, the people he encounters along the way have helped to pioneer the economic infrastructure of the future. At once personal and keenly analytical, Extreme Economies is an epic travelogue for the age of global turbulence, shedding light on today’s most pressing economic questions.

Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea

Author: International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-02-13

Total Pages: 118

ISBN-13: 148434166X

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This Selected Issues chapter outlines a strategy to facilitate this and navigate the more challenging monetary environment, involving enhanced communication of policy interest rate intentions and inflation-forecast targeting. The reduction in the inflation target by a percentage point to 2 percent in January 2016 weakened the nominal anchor. Monetary policy can play a role rebuilding the credibility of the anchor more rapidly through the adoption of inflation-forecast targeting. This strengthening of the monetary policy framework involves enhancing communications. An effective, credible monetary policy cannot address all macroeconomic challenges facing Korea. Rather, it can foster robust growth with low inflation, providing a stable and predictable environment that allows other policies to work more effectively. These other policies play a complementary role. Fiscal policy can reinforce the effectiveness of monetary policy, as illustrated by model scenarios. Structural policies can also support monetary policy by, for example, boosting potential growth.


Book Synopsis Republic of Korea by : International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept

Download or read book Republic of Korea written by International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2018-02-13 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Selected Issues chapter outlines a strategy to facilitate this and navigate the more challenging monetary environment, involving enhanced communication of policy interest rate intentions and inflation-forecast targeting. The reduction in the inflation target by a percentage point to 2 percent in January 2016 weakened the nominal anchor. Monetary policy can play a role rebuilding the credibility of the anchor more rapidly through the adoption of inflation-forecast targeting. This strengthening of the monetary policy framework involves enhancing communications. An effective, credible monetary policy cannot address all macroeconomic challenges facing Korea. Rather, it can foster robust growth with low inflation, providing a stable and predictable environment that allows other policies to work more effectively. These other policies play a complementary role. Fiscal policy can reinforce the effectiveness of monetary policy, as illustrated by model scenarios. Structural policies can also support monetary policy by, for example, boosting potential growth.

A New Strategy for Korea’s Fiscal Policy in a Low Growth Environment

A New Strategy for Korea’s Fiscal Policy in a Low Growth Environment

Author: Ms.Edda Zoli

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-04-24

Total Pages: 27

ISBN-13: 1484353986

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Adverse demographics and other structural weaknesses impinge on Korea’s long-term fiscal outlook and potential growth. Moreover, inadequate social protection is creating poverty and dampening consumption. The paper presents projections of Korea’s fiscal outlook, using new estimates of potential growth obtained with a novel multivariate filter. It shows that keeping fiscal revenues-to-GDP constant would result in an explosive public debt dynamic in the long term. Then, through simulations of the Flexible System of Global Models, the paper analyzes policies to preserve fiscal sustainability, while boosting potential growth and social protection. It concludes that with greater revenue mobilization, Korea can stabilize debt-to-GDP well below “dangerous” levels. Policies to address Korea’s challenges include higher targeted transfers to the most vulnerable and fiscal measures to support female labor force participation and employment, accompanied by product and labor market reforms.


Book Synopsis A New Strategy for Korea’s Fiscal Policy in a Low Growth Environment by : Ms.Edda Zoli

Download or read book A New Strategy for Korea’s Fiscal Policy in a Low Growth Environment written by Ms.Edda Zoli and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2018-04-24 with total page 27 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adverse demographics and other structural weaknesses impinge on Korea’s long-term fiscal outlook and potential growth. Moreover, inadequate social protection is creating poverty and dampening consumption. The paper presents projections of Korea’s fiscal outlook, using new estimates of potential growth obtained with a novel multivariate filter. It shows that keeping fiscal revenues-to-GDP constant would result in an explosive public debt dynamic in the long term. Then, through simulations of the Flexible System of Global Models, the paper analyzes policies to preserve fiscal sustainability, while boosting potential growth and social protection. It concludes that with greater revenue mobilization, Korea can stabilize debt-to-GDP well below “dangerous” levels. Policies to address Korea’s challenges include higher targeted transfers to the most vulnerable and fiscal measures to support female labor force participation and employment, accompanied by product and labor market reforms.

Japan’s Lost Decade

Japan’s Lost Decade

Author: Naoyuki Yoshino

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-09-20

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 981105021X

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This book discusses Japan’s long-term economic recession and provides remedies for that recession that are useful for other Asian economies. The book addresses why Japan’s economy has stagnated since the bursting of its economic bubble in the 1990s. Its empirical analysis challenges the beliefs of some economists, such as Paul Krugman, that the Japanese economy is caught in a liquidity trap. This book argues that Japan’s economic stagnation stems from a vertical “investment–saving” (IS) curve rather than a liquidity trap. The impact of fiscal policy has declined drastically, and the Japanese economy faces structural problems rather than a temporary downturn. These structural problems have many causes: an aging demographic (a problem that is frequently overlooked), an over-reliance by local governments on transfers from the central government, and Basel capital requirements that have made Japanese banks reluctant to lend money to start-up businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises. This latter issue has discouraged Japanese innovation and technological progress. All these issues are addressed empirically and theoretically, and several remedies for Japan’s long-lasting recession are provided. This volume will be of interest to researchers and policy makers not only in Japan but also the People’s Republic of China, many countries in the eurozone, and the United States, which may face similar challenges in the future.


Book Synopsis Japan’s Lost Decade by : Naoyuki Yoshino

Download or read book Japan’s Lost Decade written by Naoyuki Yoshino and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-09-20 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses Japan’s long-term economic recession and provides remedies for that recession that are useful for other Asian economies. The book addresses why Japan’s economy has stagnated since the bursting of its economic bubble in the 1990s. Its empirical analysis challenges the beliefs of some economists, such as Paul Krugman, that the Japanese economy is caught in a liquidity trap. This book argues that Japan’s economic stagnation stems from a vertical “investment–saving” (IS) curve rather than a liquidity trap. The impact of fiscal policy has declined drastically, and the Japanese economy faces structural problems rather than a temporary downturn. These structural problems have many causes: an aging demographic (a problem that is frequently overlooked), an over-reliance by local governments on transfers from the central government, and Basel capital requirements that have made Japanese banks reluctant to lend money to start-up businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises. This latter issue has discouraged Japanese innovation and technological progress. All these issues are addressed empirically and theoretically, and several remedies for Japan’s long-lasting recession are provided. This volume will be of interest to researchers and policy makers not only in Japan but also the People’s Republic of China, many countries in the eurozone, and the United States, which may face similar challenges in the future.

IMF Research Bulletin, Summer 2017

IMF Research Bulletin, Summer 2017

Author: International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2017-08-11

Total Pages: 19

ISBN-13: 1484315294

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The Summer 2017 issue of the IMF Research Bulletin highlights new research such as recent IMF Working Papers and Staff Discussion Notes. The Research Summaries are “Structural Reform Packages, Sequencing, and the Informal Economy (by Zsuzsa Munkacsi and Magnus Saxegaard) and “A Broken Social Contract, Not High Inequality Led to the Arab Spring” (by Shantayanan Devarajan and Elena Ianchovichina). The Q&A section features “Seven Questions on Fintech” (by Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli). The Bulletin also includes information on recommended titles from IMF Publications and the latest articles from the IMF Economic Review.


Book Synopsis IMF Research Bulletin, Summer 2017 by : International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.

Download or read book IMF Research Bulletin, Summer 2017 written by International Monetary Fund. Research Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2017-08-11 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Summer 2017 issue of the IMF Research Bulletin highlights new research such as recent IMF Working Papers and Staff Discussion Notes. The Research Summaries are “Structural Reform Packages, Sequencing, and the Informal Economy (by Zsuzsa Munkacsi and Magnus Saxegaard) and “A Broken Social Contract, Not High Inequality Led to the Arab Spring” (by Shantayanan Devarajan and Elena Ianchovichina). The Q&A section features “Seven Questions on Fintech” (by Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli). The Bulletin also includes information on recommended titles from IMF Publications and the latest articles from the IMF Economic Review.

Retirement in Japan and South Korea

Retirement in Japan and South Korea

Author: Masa Higo

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-04-10

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1317499875

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This book analyses reforms to retirement policies in Japan and South Korea, especially in the context of rapid population ageing. A defining feature of the labour markets and workplaces in these two nations, and the lives of workers and families, is involuntary retirement at relatively young ages. The book explains past developments and recent reforms of retirement policies both in the two countries, as well as in a cross-national comparative manner. At the core of the book is an examination of the social, economic and political conflicts around retirement, such as between younger and older workers, between employers and governments, and between employers and workers. The policy recommendations offered apply not only to Japan and South Korea, but also to other nations such as China. The volume is of value particularly for those interested in labour markets and workplaces, population ageing and contemporary East Asia, in addition to those studying retirement and pensions. Policymakers, business leaders, worker organizations, researchers and students will benefit from the insights about the past, present and future of retirement.


Book Synopsis Retirement in Japan and South Korea by : Masa Higo

Download or read book Retirement in Japan and South Korea written by Masa Higo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-04-10 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses reforms to retirement policies in Japan and South Korea, especially in the context of rapid population ageing. A defining feature of the labour markets and workplaces in these two nations, and the lives of workers and families, is involuntary retirement at relatively young ages. The book explains past developments and recent reforms of retirement policies both in the two countries, as well as in a cross-national comparative manner. At the core of the book is an examination of the social, economic and political conflicts around retirement, such as between younger and older workers, between employers and governments, and between employers and workers. The policy recommendations offered apply not only to Japan and South Korea, but also to other nations such as China. The volume is of value particularly for those interested in labour markets and workplaces, population ageing and contemporary East Asia, in addition to those studying retirement and pensions. Policymakers, business leaders, worker organizations, researchers and students will benefit from the insights about the past, present and future of retirement.

The Comfort Women

The Comfort Women

Author: C. Sarah Soh

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2020-05-15

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 022676804X

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In an era marked by atrocities perpetrated on a grand scale, the tragedy of the so-called comfort women—mostly Korean women forced into prostitution by the Japanese army—endures as one of the darkest events of World War II. These women have usually been labeled victims of a war crime, a simplistic view that makes it easy to pin blame on the policies of imperial Japan and therefore easier to consign the episode to a war-torn past. In this revelatory study, C. Sarah Soh provocatively disputes this master narrative. Soh reveals that the forces of Japanese colonialism and Korean patriarchy together shaped the fate of Korean comfort women—a double bind made strikingly apparent in the cases of women cast into sexual slavery after fleeing abuse at home. Other victims were press-ganged into prostitution, sometimes with the help of Korean procurers. Drawing on historical research and interviews with survivors, Soh tells the stories of these women from girlhood through their subjugation and beyond to their efforts to overcome the traumas of their past. Finally, Soh examines the array of factors— from South Korean nationalist politics to the aims of the international women’s human rights movement—that have contributed to the incomplete view of the tragedy that still dominates today.


Book Synopsis The Comfort Women by : C. Sarah Soh

Download or read book The Comfort Women written by C. Sarah Soh and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-05-15 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an era marked by atrocities perpetrated on a grand scale, the tragedy of the so-called comfort women—mostly Korean women forced into prostitution by the Japanese army—endures as one of the darkest events of World War II. These women have usually been labeled victims of a war crime, a simplistic view that makes it easy to pin blame on the policies of imperial Japan and therefore easier to consign the episode to a war-torn past. In this revelatory study, C. Sarah Soh provocatively disputes this master narrative. Soh reveals that the forces of Japanese colonialism and Korean patriarchy together shaped the fate of Korean comfort women—a double bind made strikingly apparent in the cases of women cast into sexual slavery after fleeing abuse at home. Other victims were press-ganged into prostitution, sometimes with the help of Korean procurers. Drawing on historical research and interviews with survivors, Soh tells the stories of these women from girlhood through their subjugation and beyond to their efforts to overcome the traumas of their past. Finally, Soh examines the array of factors— from South Korean nationalist politics to the aims of the international women’s human rights movement—that have contributed to the incomplete view of the tragedy that still dominates today.

Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education Lessons from PISA for Korea

Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education Lessons from PISA for Korea

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2014-03-14

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 9264190678

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The story of Korean education over the past 50 years is one of remarkable growth and achievement. Korea is one of the top performing countries in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey and among those with the highest ...


Book Synopsis Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education Lessons from PISA for Korea by : OECD

Download or read book Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education Lessons from PISA for Korea written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2014-03-14 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of Korean education over the past 50 years is one of remarkable growth and achievement. Korea is one of the top performing countries in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey and among those with the highest ...