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Lessons from Investment Policy Reform in Korea

Author

Listed:
  • Françoise Nicolas

    (Institut Français des relations internationales)

  • Stephen Thomsen

    (OECD)

  • Mi-Hyun Bang

    (OECD)

Abstract

As more and more countries seek to liberalise their foreign investment regimes to attract global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI), an essential question for policy-makers is no longer just what to reform but also how to reform. How is a reformist government to sell the idea of reform to the general public and to counter any opposition to reform? How are those who lose from reform in the short term to be compensated? Does sequencing of reforms matter? Korea offers a particularly interesting case study because its reforms beginning in the 1990s were both rapid and far-reaching. Based on the OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index, Korea was the biggest reformer of its policies towards FDI between 1997 and 2010 among a sample of 40 developed and emerging countries. The objective of this study is to document the liberalisation of the FDI regime in Korea and to examine how and why it came about. What were the main obstacles and what were the main drivers? How did FDI liberalisation relate to other reforms (trade policy and regulatory reform, policies towards outward investment)? The paper does not ask what more Korea needs to do but rather what lessons can we draw from the Korean experience about how to achieve rapid and sustainable reforms? The insights from Korean liberalisation are useful for other countries, particularly non-OECD members in Asia and elsewhere, which still have high levels of statutory restrictions as measured by the FDI Index. Many of these countries are eager to attract more investment and recognise that they will need to reform their investment regime but are unsure how best to proceed. Each country?s reform path is unique, and this study will not provide a roadmap for other countries to follow, but it will nevertheless serve as a useful model for reformers in other countries and provide evidence that successful reform is accompanied by rising inflows of direct investment.

Suggested Citation

  • Françoise Nicolas & Stephen Thomsen & Mi-Hyun Bang, 2013. "Lessons from Investment Policy Reform in Korea," OECD Working Papers on International Investment 2013/2, OECD Publishing.
  • Handle: RePEc:oec:dafaaa:2013/2-en
    DOI: 10.1787/5k4376zqcpf1-en
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Hille, Erik & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Moosa, Imad, 2019. "The impact of FDI on regional air pollution in the Republic of Korea: A way ahead to achieve the green growth strategy?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 308-326.
    2. Mr. Diego A. Cerdeiro & Rachel J. Nam, 2018. "A Multidimensional Approach to Trade Policy Indicators," IMF Working Papers 2018/032, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Hyunbae Chun & Jung Hur & Nyeong Seon Son, 2020. "Hollowing Out or Filling In? The Effects of Multinational Enterprises on Domestic Plant Turnover and Job Growth in Factory Asia," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 36, pages 285-317.
    4. Sta. Romana, Leonardo L., 2014. "Some Lessons from Korea's Industrialization Strategy and Experience," MPRA Paper 58250, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Sánchez-Masi, Luis, 2022. "La política económica neoclásica en América Latina: génesis y consecuencias de cuatro décadas perdidas en el desarrollo latinoamericano, 1980-2020 [Neoclassical Economic Policy in Latin America: Or," MPRA Paper 114296, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Jul 2022.
    6. Chune Young Chung & Sang Jun Cho & Doojin Ryu & Doowon Ryu, 2019. "Institutional blockholders and corporate social responsibility," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(3), pages 143-186, July.
    7. Ka-Hyun Lee & Jai S. Mah, 2017. "Foreign Direct Investment Flows from China to Korea in the Automobile Industry," China Report, , vol. 53(1), pages 26-45, February.
    8. Hille, Erik, 2016. "The impact of foreign direct investments on regional air pollution in the Republic of Korea: A way ahead to achieve the green growth strategy?," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145517, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    9. CHUN, Hyunbae & HUR, Jung & SON, Nyeong Seon, 2018. "Hollowing Out or Filling In? Impacts of Multinational Enterprises on Domestic Plant Turnover and Job Growth in Factory Asia," Discussion paper series HIAS-E-71, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index; foreign direct investment; investment policy reform; segyehwa; South Korea;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • F53 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations
    • O24 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Trade Policy; Factor Movement; Foreign Exchange Policy
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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