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Through a critical review of existing research, this paper presents an alternative strategy for explaining the distinctiveness of East Asian regional development. The literature on East Asia offers three main alternatives for explaining the region’s development: market-friendly, late-industrializing and crony-capitalist theories. Stepping back from the many conflicting claims among the three approaches, a striking similarity emerges in their basic explanation of the overall process of development: They all share in an understanding of development as initiated and sustained mainly through the voluntary direction of government elites endeavoring economic growth. According to the shared explanation, government elites first decide that economic development is a necessity; they then formulate and implement policies aimed at stimulating economic growth; finally, development proceeds within changing institutional settings fashioned by those elites. At issue is the motivation of government elites to formulate, implement, and sustain a setting favorable to economic growth—in short, it is their will that is salient. This voluntary explanation proves lacking in accounting for the exceptional record of East Asian regional development and subsequent financial crisis. Because they employ a government-business dichotomy and intra-state focus, the three theories do not effectively explain how the East Asian region has been more willing and better able than others to adjust in the process of development. This paper closes by presenting an alternative strategy for inquiry, one that rejects a government-business dichotomy and intra-state focus for explaining development. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses two interrelated questions concerning the socio-economic impact of political corruption and neoliberal reforms: Do neoliberal policies deter political corruption, or does corruption hamper neoliberal reforms? How does political corruption influence socio-economic conditions after the reforms? Using a large cross-national data set that covers 70 countries from Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe from 1995 to 2008, the authors test the liberal argument that neoliberal economic reforms (measured by trade openness, FDI, and regulatory policies) deter political corruption and bring faster economic development (GDP growth). The statistical analysis shows two main findings. First, the result illustrates that extensive neoliberal reforms tend to reduce political corruption. Second, the impact of liberal reforms on socio-economic conditions is mediated by the level of political corruption. Liberal economic reforms bring a faster economic growth. However, allocation of the wealth to the members of society is dependent upon the level of political corruption. Neoliberal reforms widen economic inequality and minimize social welfare spending when political corruption is widespread. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The twenty-first century is called "Asian Century" due to growing political self-consciousness and dramatic economic growth in Asia" (Kishore 2008; Saches 2004). China's remarkable economic growth makes China take a greater role in the region and the international community. The rise of China and of other Asian countries has created competition in Asia for dominance militarily, economically, and politically. In East Asia, the economic powerhouses of China and Japan are now in conflict for greater influence over the region. Caught between these two countries, South Korea is a strong ally of and a locus of power for the United States. Given China's growing influence in East Asia, and given Japan's strong economy but sticky historical relationship during the World War II, will South Korea be more inclined to align itself more closely with China or Japan? By using 2003 and 2004 AsiaBarometers, this research examines the South Koreans' perception toward Japan, China, and the U.S., and determines how these sentiments may influence policymaking. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]