Korean Economic Growth, 1876 - 2022

Nak Nyeon Kim received his BA in economics from Seoul National University and his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo, where his dissertation explored the Korean economy during Japanese colonial rule. He served as a professor of economics at Dongguk University from 1993 until his retirement in 2022. His research interests span economic history, economic growth, and the distribution of income and wealth. He directed the Naksungdae Institute of Economic Research, a leading center for quantitative studies on Korean economic history, for nearly a decade, where he led a project to compile long-term statistical data on Korea. He has also been conducting research on the long-term trends of income inequality and redistribution, as well as the characteristics of the Korean welfare state, utilizing household surveys, tax data, and national account statistics. He served as president of the Korean Economic History Society in 2013 and is currently president of the Academy of Korean Studies. His major publications include History of Economic Growth in Korea (in Korean, Heanam Publishing, 2023), Historical Statistics of Korea (co-edited with Myung Soo Cha, Ki-Joo Park, and Yitaek Park, Springer, 2022), National Accounts of Korea 1911-2010 (ed., Seoul National University Press, 2012), and The Korean Economy under Japanese Colonial Rule (Tokyo University Press, 2002).

• A Perspective on the History of Economic Growth.- Macroeconomy and Sources of Growth.- Money, Finance, and Public Finance.- The Formation of Human and Physical Capital.- Living Standards and Inequality.- The Opening of the Ports: Observations from Bishop’s Travels.- Colonization and Institutional Change.- Economic Development during the Colonial Era.- Liberation, Division, War, and Aid Economy.- High Economic Growth.- Policy Transitions and Social Development.- The Korean Economy with Slow Growth.- Looking Back at the Last 150 Years.