Inclusive systems behind S. Korea's economic growth: Nobel Prize laureate Robinson

Seoul, Aug 19 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 on 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, reports Yonhap news agency.

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 South 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, South Korea has been inclusive," Robinson said.

On South 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 South Korea "got lucky and President Park was obsessed with developing the economy."

The economist also mentioned the family-owned structure of South Korea's large conglomerates, or chaebol, such as Samsung Electronics Co., as another example that showed why the country is an exception to conventional economic beliefs.

"Maybe there's a sort of compatibility between family-owned firms in Korea and the whole society and the way the government works, and it creates a kind of logic that makes something work in Korea," he said.

When asked about the comparative development of countries in the future, Robinson mentioned Nigeria as one of the countries with the most growth potential.

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