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North Korea: Building the Institutions to Raise Living Standards

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  • Paul Hare
Abstract
This paper examines the nature of the economic failure that has brought North Korea such low living standards, and considers how the economic system might be reformed to facilitate a return to overall growth in both aggregate income (GDP) and general living standards. The focus is on institutional aspects of the needed reforms, emphasising the importance of building on existing institutions and practices wherever possible, rather than starting from scratch from a tabula rasa . Food supplies, the large military establishment, and the astonishing failure to adapt to the trade shock resulting from the collapse of the USSR are reviewed in detail, and potential lessons are explored from EU enlargement, German reunification and the very messy Russian transition. In proposing reforms, the paper is pragmatic and flexible, prioritising measures to improve food supplies while also emphasising a wide range of local, experimental and decentralised reforms that surely have greater chance of success than a top-down approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Hare, 2012. "North Korea: Building the Institutions to Raise Living Standards," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3), pages 487-509, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:intecj:v:26:y:2012:i:3:p:487-509
    DOI: 10.1080/10168737.2012.707876
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Funke, Michael & Strulik, Holger, 2005. "Growth and convergence in a two-region model: The hypothetical case of Korean unification," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 255-279, April.
    2. Noland, Marcus & Haggard, Stephan, 2007. "Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid, and Reform," MPRA Paper 92548, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Haggard, Stephan & Noland, Marcus, 2009. "Famine in North Korea Redux?," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 384-395, September.
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    5. Siebert, Horst, 1991. "German unification: the economics of transition," Kiel Working Papers 468, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    6. Marcus Noland, 2000. "Avoiding the Apocalypse: The Future of the Two Koreas," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 94, April.
    7. Andrei Shleifer & Daniel Treisman, 2005. "A Normal Country: Russia After Communism," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 151-174, Winter.
    8. Wendy Carlin, 2011. "Good Institutions are not Enough: Ongoing Challenges of Eastern German Development," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 9(01), pages 28-34, May.
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    10. International Finance Corporation & World Bank, 2012. "Doing Business 2012 : Doing Business in a More Transparent World," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 5907.
    11. Marcus Noland & Sherman Robinson & Ligang Liu, 1999. "The economics of korean unification," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(3), pages 255-299.
    12. David Parker & David Saal (ed.), 2003. "International Handbook on Privatization," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2330.
    13. Stephan Haggard & Marcus Noland, 2010. "The Winter of Their Discontent: Pyongyang Attacks the Market," Policy Briefs PB10-1, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2020. "North Korean Decisionmaking," OSF Preprints e6gsh, Center for Open Science.

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