Asia

Along with commercial banks, capital markets are an integral part of the financial systems in most capitalist economies, and their relative importance is constantly increasing. Countries around the world are…

Central banks have two responsibilities: (1) stabilize the value of the currency and (2) maintain public confidence in deposit money by limiting systemic risk. The first responsibility is primary, ongoing,…

In the unfolding process of the Korean financial crisis in 1997, an inefficient corporate bankruptcy system played a damaging role in the Korean economy. Before the crisis, in 1996 and…

Although Korea has seen its economic growth rates come down from the stratospheric heights of previous decades, it remains, by any advanced-country yardstick, a successful economic performer. Korea’s real GDP…

When Kim Jong-il died in 2011, the world held its breath as North Korea entered uncharted waters. No other communist dictatorship in the last century – for that matter no…

On June 25, 1950, North Korea launched a surprise invasion of South Korea and started a war that is still technically ongoing. But it was – as North Korea’s Kim…

The North Korean economy is changing – we know this because of widely reported growth of private markets since the famine of 1990s. But black markets and illicit activities are…

In May, The Korean-born Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin was named The National League Pitcher of the Month. When you think of Asians and baseball, you might think first…

By Christopher Hurst Recent headlines around the world have highlighted the growth of refugees worldwide. There have been calls from the UN for the rich nations of the world to step up and help take in many of these people fleeing war and persecution from places in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. In…

By Nayoon Lee Two seemingly unrelated events point to a larger problem in Korea. In 2011, a prosecutor was caught for accepting a Mercedes Benz and a Chanel bag from the opposing lawyer. The lawyer and the prosecutor asserted that they were in a relationship, and the court decided the prosecutor was not guilty. What…

By Min Tae Chung South Korea is well known for its rapid economic growth with its post- Korean War development. Early in South Korea’s economic development, also known as “the miracle of the Han River,” the economy underwent constant and rapid growth that has elevated South Korea’s economy to the heights of one of the…

By Troy Stangarone North Korea and South Korea are different, but sometimes it takes a crisis in each country to draw those differences out. In many ways, the flooding in North Korea in September and the recent crisis at Samsung help to illustrate how different the two countries have become since they were divided after…