Inclusive systems behind Korea's economic growth, says Nobel Prize laureate Robinson

Stark economic disparities between the two Koreas stem from differences in their economic and political institutions, the winner of last year's Nobel Prize in economic science said Tuesday. James Robinson, a professor at the University of Chicago, made the remarks during the 2025 World Congress of the Econometric Society (ESWC) held in southern Seoul. The congress, held every five years, is one of the biggest academic events in the field of economics. The Seoul meeting is the first in-person event in 10 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the first to be held in Korea. "North Korea is almost like a kind of paradigm of a society with extractive economic institutions and extractive political institutions. And, compared to that, Korea has been inclusive," Robinson said. On Korea's rapid economic growth, he said the authoritarian rule under President Park Chung-hee from 1961 to 1979 was one of the growth drivers, saying that Korea "got lucky and President Park was obsessed with developing the economy." The economist also mentioned the family-owned structure of Korea's large conglomerates,Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times