Art of Economic Catch-Up

In his previous Schumpeter Prize-winning work, Lee analysed the 'middle-income trap', in which a developing country grows strongly only to plateau at a certain point. Yet certain developing countries, most significantly China, have managed to escape this trap. Building on the conception of the ladder from developing to developed countries being kicked way, this book suggests alternative ways, such as 'leapfrogging', in which latecomers can catch up with their forerunners. Providing policy solutions for development challenges in non-technical terms, Lee frames his theories with insightful and inventive allegories. In doing so, Lee also accounts for the catch-up paradox, in which one cannot conclusively catch-up if they are continually trying to follow the path of those ahead. He argues that eventual catch-up and overtaking require pursuing a path that differs from that taken by forerunners. This highly original and accessible book will appeal to students, scholars, practitioners, and anyone interested in economic development and innovation.

'Economists and policy makers all over the world are eager to understand better the remarkable technological and economic development of Korea, Taiwan, and more recently China from poor backward economies to economies supporting a number of world class sophisticated industries. In my view the writings over the past decade of Keun Lee have provided great illumination regarding how this progress has been achieved. This book provides a coherent and accessible review of his analyses and takes it further to consider how these countries have been able to reach the technological and economic frontiers despite increasing resistance from firms and countries who have not welcomed this new competition. This book is essential reading for those interested in economic development.' Richard R. Nelson, Columbia University, 'A world expert on how developing countries catch up developed ones, Professor Keun Lee has now written an accessible and important book about the strategies developing countries can use to overcome the barriers they face. This is a must-have book for both policy-makers and businessmen in developing countries.' David Sainsbury, Former Minster of Science and Innovation, UK Government, 'Only a few middle-income economies have been able to cross the hurdle to reach high-income status since the end of World War II. Drawing from the experiences of those few economies, the book not only identifies the key for the success is to sustain dynamic, technological innovation but also provides practical advice to the enterprises and the government in a middle-income economy about how to do it. This is an impeccably researched and very readable book. A must read for anyone who concerns about the middle-income trap and how to overcome it.' Justin Yifu Lin, Dean, the Institute of New Structural Economics and Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, Peking University; Former Chief Economist, the World Bank, 'Keun Lee's new book starts with a deep meditation on the process and detours of economic transformation, and quickly becomes a captivating treatise and a sparkling manifesto on the mechanics of sustained economic changes. It ends up being a policy blueprint on how to handle the big issues that keep economists, political leaders, development experts, and ordinary citizens up at night. Keun Lee has charted the path to economic nirvana.' Célestin Monga, Vice-President, African Development Bank Group, 'Using colorful metaphors and rich case studies, this provocative volume very effectively distills the insights from Lee's prize winning Schumpeterian Analysis of Economic Catch-Up for generalists and policy-makers. Based on his formidable experience in East Asia, Lee postulates a set of barriers developing countries potentially face to following established development paths. He then offers valuable lessons on, for instance, the limitations of passive GVC insertion strategies, or the identification of 'windows of opportunity' where entry barriers are not yet established. Taken together, Lee offers central elements of what he intriguingly terms the 'art of catch up'- of identifying or creating new paths to prosperity.' William Maloney, Chief Economist of Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions, World Bank

Keun Lee is Professor of Economics at Seoul National University, and the founding director of the Center for Economic Catch-up. He is also the President of the International Schumpeter Society, a member of the UN Committee for Development Policy, an editor of Research Policy, a council member of the World Economic Forum, and a member of the governing board of Globelics. He was awarded the 2014 Schumpeter Prize for his book Schumpeterian Analysis of Economic Catch-up: Knowledge, Path-creation and the Middle Income Trap (Cambridge, 2013).