Free Market - Strong State: The Politics of Market Reforms in South Korea.

In this paper, we study the political economy of market reforms in Korea since the 1997/98 financial crisis. We focus on the political and fiscal capacity of the state to implement these reforms, and challenge the view that successfully implemented market reforms follow a technocratic "best practice" approach. On the contrary, we argue that reforms in Korea were relatively successful because they were political projects, and join the ranks of those who challenge the view that market reforms equal less state interventions. We show that market reforms in Korea went hand in hand with an expansion of the state. The formation of interest coalitions constituted the reform machinery while government expenditures have been the grease to make the machinery run smoother and prevent it from breaking. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]