The Korean Electronics Industry: The Japanese Role in its Growth

Abstract

Korea's electronics industry has developed to the point where it accounts for an increasing share of output, exports and employment. Its spectacular growth can be largely attributed to its rapid expansion to become the dominant export, accounting for more than a quarter of the total. To determine the causes of this performance, this contribution will look at both ‘internal’ (government policy regimes, incentives) and ‘external’ factors. It argues that domestic policies were only efective in so far as they were supported by external factors. Such export-orientated industrialization includes a cycle between investment, imports competitiveness and exports.