459s13 lecture2 3
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POLS 459 POLITICS OF EAST ASIA
Session 1 topic: Introduction to the course Session 2 topic: From poverty to prosperity
Professor Timothy C. Lim California State University, Los Angeles
how to study change and continuity
a question: how do we go about identifying, understanding !and explaining those forces or factors most important to the !
processes of change and continuity in East Asia?
this is not a simple question, nor is it a question that we should take lightly, or gloss over by making a few cursory comments and then moving on to the more
“important stuff” ... indeed, the question of “how to study” change and continuity in East Asia is the essential starting point for this course
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
to explain and understand economic, social, and political phenomena, !we need a plan—a coherent and systematic way of organizing and
supporting our ideas and arguments
this requires us to deal head-on with two fundamental elements in any social scientific analysis, which are ...
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
theory method &
how to study change and continuity
first, a few words about theory theory cannot be avoided. this is because, no matter pragmatic or
commonsensical we think we are, any time we make a claim or argument about a social, political or economic phenomenon we are engaged in a
process of theorizing. consider, for a moment, the question we discussed earlier, “What are the reasons for East Asia’s economic success?”
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
any answer you or anyone else advances is premised on a slew of theoretical assumptions, propositions, and principles
how to study change and continuity
these assumptions, propositions, and principles revolve around questions of “agency” and “structure” (e.g., are individuals mostly responsible for
strong economic growth, or is economic growth premised on factors beyond an individual’s control?); they are premised on identifying the key forces or processes of change (economic, political, cultural, social); they
are premised on assumptions about human nature (are we rational actors?); and so on ... we will address all these issues in more detail as we
proceed throughout the quarter
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
any answer you or anyone else advances is premised on a slew of theoretical assumptions, propositions, and principles
how to study change and continuity
second, we need to know what theory (in general) is ... theory can be defined in a number of ways. For our purposes, we define
theory as a simplified representation of reality, and a framework of analysis within which facts are not only selected but also interpreted,
organized, and fitted together so that they create a coherent whole
embedded in this definition are the following key points (some of you may remember these from POLS 373) ...
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
§ theory necessarily simplifies reality § theory helps us to determine what facts are important, "
meaningful, and relevant § theory guides our interpretation of the facts (what do the facts mean?)
§ fheory tells us how to organize the facts—how do different facts relate to one another? Which are primary and which are secondary?
§ theory allows us to develop “whole arguments”
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
third, we need to learn and understand specific theoretical " models or approaches"
our main reading and this class is partly organized !around a “competing perspectives” approach: simply !
put, this means that we will examine contrasting arguments about major issues in East Asia: economic !
growth and industrialization, political continuity and !change (i.e., democratization), and the dynamics of !
migration/immigration
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
the competing perspectives approach
this course assumes that each provides indispensable !insights into a proper understanding of continuity and !
change in East Asia, and thus each needs to be taken !seriously. Moreover, we believe that the systematic !
juxtaposition of these competing viewpoints will !allow for a more enriching and multidimensional !
understanding than any single perspective
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
the competing perspectives approach—a caveat
at the same time, a competing perspectives approach!is potentially very confusing: after all, why should !
there be so much disagreement? even more, how !are students supposed to figure out which perspective!
is “right” and which are “wrong”?
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
in this course, we will try to cut through the confusion by providing a path toward synthesis
or integration ...
how to study change and continuity
an integrative approach
the path we use will be based on the constructed actor model the “constructed actor” is shorthand for a more!
elaborate notion articulated by Daniel Little, who !used the phase, “the structured circumstances !
of choice of socially constructed actors”
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
an integrative approach—the basics
the constructed actor model is partly premised on a micro-level approach—i.e., a focus on individual actors
at the same time, actors are understood to be!“socially constituted,” which means that they are !
shaped by a larger current of social facts, such as!value systems, social structures, extended social!
networks, and the like: this also means that the!constructed actor model is a multi-level approach
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
a lit
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how to study change and continuity
an integrative approach—the basics
In the CAM, it is individuals who make decisions or choices and it is through these choices that certain outcomes are produced (such as rapid
economic growth); yet, these choices are always !conditioned or constrained by an array of other!
factors, some of which are extremely powerful in the CAM, we need to identify and explain how "individual choices interact with social, political, "
geostrategic, institutional, cultural, economic contexts
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
What does all this mean at a more down-to-earth or practical !level? It means, first and most simply, that ‘people matter.’ Thus,
we always need to stay focused on individual actors: again, it matters what choices they make and what actions they take ....Yet,
it also means that we must take a step back from the actors; we cannot, in other words, ignore all those factors and forces that go
into shaping an individual’s attitudes, perceptions, values, and beliefs. The cultural and social milieu in which people interact also matters. Nor can we ignore the institutional and structural context
within which individual decisions are made.
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
an integrative approach—the basics
we will have much more to say about the constructed actor model as we proceed throughout the quarter
for now, simply keep in mind that it an essential element of"the heuristic approach we will use in this course;"
it is also a model that you must endeavor to master,"as you will be required to “apply” the constructed"
actor model in your own analyses
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
methodological issues
explaining change and continuity require more than just a discussion and application of theory—we also need to be cognizant of what researchers
refer to as method or methodology
method is vital
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
methodological issues
method is vital, in part, because it provides the means for supporting !(and evaluating) theoretical claims and arguments, which also !
means that it provides a basis for evaluating competing !theoretical perspectives as a whole
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
simple definition: method refers to the manner in which evidence is gathered, analyzed, and interpreted in order to test a hypothesis or
theory. in the social sciences there are numerous methods, including the statistical method and the comparative method
how to study change and continuity
methodological issues
there are many ways to discuss and analyze method; for now, keep this simple point in mind: method is a tool
as tools, some methods are clearly better suited to certain "tasks or objectives than others, but there are "also basic tools (and techniques) that can be "
used effectively for a wide variety of tasks; "in our class, we will primarily use three "
types of methodological tools ...
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
methodological tools
§ descriptive statistics and other quantitative data § case-oriented comparisons
§ historical analysis
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
we will talk about each of these methods shortly, but first a few cautionary
words about “bad method”
how to study change and continuity
bad method
too often, researchers may serious mistakes because the fail to consider even the most basic methodological principles
the example used in the reading is a “direct comparison” of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (like comparing three oranges) wherein "
the researchers first notes that all three countries achieved "comparable economic success, and then finds another "similarity among the three cases and concludes, “Aha! "
I have found the common reason for their economic success!”
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
bad method
but what’s wrong with the foregoing example? what’s ! wrong with comparing three “oranges”?
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
basic problem: when comparing three essentially similar cases, where there are
no significant differences, there is no way to control for a range of variables // consider
the following table ...
flawed MSS design: comparing Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
flawed MSS design: comparing Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
Questions: based on the information in the table, how are the countries similar? "what conclusions, if any, can we draw from the similarities?
how to study change and continuity
bad method: ahistorical analysis
another example of “bad method” is ! ahistorical analysis: what does this mean, !
and why is it a problem?
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
hint: consider the example of Confucianism cited in the readings
how to study change and continuity
back to methodological tools
§ descriptive statistics and other quantitative data § case-oriented comparisons
§ historical analysis
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
methodological tools: descriptive statistics
descriptive statistics are typically statistics or figures that summarize a data set for an entire population of subjects—
e.g. GDP, per capita GDP, export growth, fertility rate, educational level, infant mortality, and so on: descriptive
statistics allow us to make broad and relative !comparisons about countries, industries, !
whole societies, and so on
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
methodological tools: descriptive statistics
descriptive statistics are very useful, but they are also very limited—they can allow us, as noted in the previous slide, to make relative comparisons between subjects, and they can
also allow us to see basic correlations. but they do not allow!for causal conclusions to be drawn; in addition,!
descriptive statistics are reductionist and!can be easily misused or misinterpreted
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
methodological tools: case-oriented comparisons
case-oriented analyses are holistic comparisons of events, decisions, institutions, policies, outcomes and the like; in a
case-oriented analysis, the researcher examines myriad factors and their interactions in detail and depth. this is tool!
that allows researchers to deal with complex!causality
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
methodological tools: case-oriented comparisons
case-oriented comparisons add a comparative element: this means that we examine our cases in relation to other
cases as way for us to better assess our arguments, conclusions, or claims
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
methodological tools: historical analysis
historical analysis begins with the premise that what happened in the past continues to affect what happens
today. Even more, how and when things happened in the past are often key to explaining contemporary outcomes and
processes. historical analysis is an important!part of case-oriented analysis.
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
how to study change and continuity
summing up
the first chapter covers a lot of fairly abstract material, !but it is also foundational material and an essential basis !
for the rest of this course—for now, though, just try to !keep the basic theoretical and methodological issues !
in mind as we proceed
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA introduction to the course
SESSION 2
From Poverty to Prosperity in One Generation: Explaining the East Asian “Miracle”
explaining the East Asian miracle
in our first class meeting, we discussed the reasons for rapid economic growth and industrialization in East Asia—we will continue that discussion today, except now !the focus will be on the dominant theoretical !arguments (i.e., the competing !perspectives) that have been !advanced: the best place to !begin, perhaps, is with liberal explanations
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
liberal explanations
all liberal explanations begin with a focus on individuals !and on the ________________
some questions what is the free market and what makes is"
so special? how does the market explain"East Asia’s phenomenal record of "
economic growth? (just consider these"questions for now)
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
free market
Consider this defense of the free market by Milton Friedman, one of the strongest"advocates of free markets until his death in 2006
liberal explanations
from the foregoing video, it is clear that the free market is a market in which there is minimal interference by non-market !
actors, especially the state
a free market is premised on voluntary and unrestricted "exchanges between buyers and sellers; when this "
happens, there is always mutual gain (that is, both "buyers and sellers benefit), and in an economy in"
which a free market prevails, there is always"strong and consistent economic growth
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
liberal explanations
thus, for East Asia, the basic liberal explanation is very clear, and very simple: East Asian productivity is primarily product !
of market forces and, at most, very limited government intervention (designed to improve!
the macro-economic environment
to buttress this argument, liberal economists point"to the former Soviet Union, and to all economies"that relied on central (state) planning, including "
North Korea and China prior to 1979 ...
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
liberal explanations
what is the story with centrally planned economies?
consider the following table ...
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
questions"
what does this table tell us about
the nature of economic growth
in planned economies? why
did the Soviet Union do so well for a while, and"
then suddenly drop off? (we also similar patterns in
other CPEs)
Paul
Kru
gman
liberal explanations
interestingly, a one famous liberal economist, Paul Krugman, argued that the East Asian miracle was no miracle at all. instead, !
he argued that Japan, South Korea, Taiwan (as well as !Singapore and Hong Kong) were basically following !
the Soviet Model—his argument centered on the issue !of total factor productivity (TFP), which refers to the !
portion of output or production in an economy not !caused by inputs (such as labor, land, and capital)
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
Krugman was skeptical because states in East Asia were highly interventionist ...
liberal explanations
Krugman was, it turned out, wrong but his reasoning was impeccably liberal, which brings us back to a key point: whatever their liberal stripe, liberal economists agree that free markets and private enterprise—and
not non-market actors, such as the state—are the fulcrum of a growing and dynamic economy
More specifically, the liberal view would posit that East Asia’s economic rise
was the product of a basic set of interconnected economic policies, including:
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
summary of key factors
§ Integration of the domestic economies into international markets
§ Lowering or elimination of trade barriers "and other forms of protectionism
§ Relatively limited state or government "
intervention in economic affairs)
§ Elimination of reduction of barriers to market entry
§ The creation of stable macroeconomic environment
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
liberal explanations
despite broad agreement, is it the case "that liberal economists agree on everything?
the short answer, of course, is “no”: but"
this raises the question ...
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
liberal explanations
on what [major] points do liberal disagree?
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
disagreements center on two issues: (1) whether markets are self-correcting, and (2) whether
market failures exist
liberal disagreements: self-correction
for our purposes, self-correction is the less important of the two disagreements, but it is still important to understand the issue
the basic issue revolves around the question: “what happens when a market experiences difficulties, such as a downturn in consumption or investment?”
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
Don’t do anything! Just let the work
work on its own. In time, equilibrium will
be restored�
That’s not always the case.—the market
sometimes needs a push to restore equilibrium
more efficiently
the self-correction debate is represented in the debate between "free marketers, such as Friedman, and followers of John Maynard"
Keynes. This video (indirectly) addresses the issue of "self-correction
liberal disagreements: market failure
the more important issue is market failure: among economists, there is some agreement that the free operation of the market cannot always
produce efficient outcomes; this is especially true in economies that are in the early stages of capitalist industrialization
Types and examples of market failures: (1) negative externalities"(pollution); (2) positive externalities (public education); (3)"imperfect information/information asymmetry; (4) public"
goods; (5) monopolistic conditions; and (6) factor "immobility
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
liberal disagreements: market failure
the important is this: if market failures exist, then government or state intervention in the economy is theoretically justified: this has led to the
emergence of what might be called “market-friendly” liberal arguments interestingly, one of these market-friendly arguments comes from a bastion of
liberal economic theory, the World Bank • the Bank has recognized,"in particular, that states can and do play important, even"essential roles, in complementing markets in situations"
where the market alone is insufficient to create"optimal results—the example used in the reading"
focuses on “information asymmetry”
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
liberal disagreements: market failure
the Bank not only argued that states can step in to!help correct market failures, but also that states!
could, to a limited (but important) extent, substitute!for the invisible hand of the market by, for example,!
“creating contests”
in East Asia, states developed “institutional structures "in which firms competed for valued economic prizes, "
such as access to credit”; the state also prohibited "monopolies, and set up relatively transparent criteria "
for “winning”—such as meeting export targets.
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
this short video provides an explanation of the invisible hand, which is strongly linked to competition (competition in the market, in others words, creates the incentive for
producers to constantly improve their products and to sell them at relatively low costs
liberal disagreements: market failure
the World Bank’s argument was almost heresy to!many (all?) staunch free-marketers, but in a sense,!the Bank had no choice: the facts on the ground—!
the reality of state intervention combined with!fantastic economic growth rates—made a mockery!
of the “aggressively deductive” free market (or !“market-only) explanations
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
a method-check: what’s the methodological problem with “market-only” explanations?
liberal disagreements: export-led growth
one more point: all liberal explanations put !a great deal of emphasis on East Asia’s !
strategy of export-oriented industrialization!(EOI) policy
but what’s the significance of an export-"
oriented industrialization policy? that is, why"do liberals think EOI is so important?
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
summing up: lessons learned
so what have we learned from our admittedly cursory "discussion of the liberal argument?
one clear lesson ...
markets matter
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
summing up: lessons learned
so what have we learned from our admittedly cursory "discussion of the liberal argument?
we also learned that, to some liberals, the "market and the state are not always in "
opposition, but can work in tandem with "one another: this offers a nice segue to a"
discussion of our next competing"perspective ...
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
next up ...
statist or institutionalist " arguments
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
the state and economic growth
first, a quick note on terminology ...
when we discuss approaches that focus on the state, the
shorthand term “statist perspective” is used; in addition, scholars will also refer to “institutionalism” or “rational institutionalism”; these are
not the same terms, but for our purposes, we can use them more or less interchangeably (the latter two are more general—keep in mind that the
state is a type of institution)
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
the state and economic growth
and now a question ... how does the statist and liberal perspectives overlap," and how do they differ from one another?
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
the state and economic growth
points of agreement between liberal and statist approaches
§ markets are essential to sustained and dynamic economic growth
§ integration into international markets (i.e., export-oriented " Industrialization) is important
§ economic autarchy, central planning, ISI (by itself) are all" prescriptions for economic failure
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
the state and economic growth
points of disagreement between liberal and statist approaches
§ economics and politics are inseparable
§ state action is important even in fully industrialized economies
§ not all states are equally capable: the nature of states " is a critical variable
§ understanding the nature of states requires " historical analysis
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
the state and economic growth
to get a more concrete sense of the statist argument, let’s !take a video detour ...
the following documentary was produced in 1991 at the height of Japan’s economic rise: it examines Japan’s state-led strategy of economic development and argues that it has been the key to that
country’s success
things, of course, have changed "since 1991, but the video’s main "message remains instructive …
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
losing the war with Japan
viewing questions
§ what assumptions does the film make ! about Japan’s economic success?
§ how does the film reflect the! statist perspective?
§ with 20-20 hindsight, what can we say ! about the accuracy of the documentary?
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
the state and economic growth
a basic point
just as the liberal perspective shows us that markets matter, we can begin our examination of the state by asserting, quite simply, that ...
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
states matter*
* but not all states are created equal or are equally capable
liberal developmental
authoritarian Keynesian
the state and economic growth
the basic point from the preceding slide, !raises another question ...
what type of state matters?
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
this is a key question, and one that differentiates the statist from the
liberal view ... how so?
liberal developmental
authoritarian Keynesian
the state and economic growth
what type of state matters?
for now, let’s just say that, in the statist"perspective, differences among states"
are a focal point of analysis and"theoretical attention
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity
the state and economic growth
to better understand statist arguments—particularly in terms of how they differ from more “flexible” liberal arguments—it is important to look to deep causes, rather than only proximate
and intermediate causes
what are the distinctions among these "three types of causes?
POLITICS OF EAST ASIA from poverty to prosperity