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Randall S. Jones

Distinguished Fellow
Korea Economic Institute of America
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About Randall S. Jones

Dr. Randall Jones is a non-resident distinguished fellow at the Korea Economic Institute and a Professional Fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Japanese Economy and Business. Previously, he served as the Senior Counsellor for East Asia and as Head of the Japan/Korea Desk at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris from 2002 until August 2019. During his 30 years at the OECD, Dr. Jones wrote all 16 OECD Economic Surveys of Korea and 15 OECD Economic Surveys of Japan, in addition to a number of other publications. In recognition for his work on Japan and Korea, Dr. Jones received the Decoration of the Order of the Rising Sun from the Government of Japan and the Sungnye Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit from the Government of Korea in 2018. Before joining the OECD in 1989, he spent three years in the U.S. government, serving at the Council of Economic Advisers and as an advisor in the State Department. Dr. Jones was also the vice-president of the Japan Economic Institute in Washington. Dr. Jones received a B.A. in Economics from Brigham Young University and a PhD in Economics from the University of Michigan in 1984. He lived in Korea from 1974 to 1976.

On May 10, 2023, KEI held a special hybrid rollout event for the inaugural volume of its new flagship journal, Korea Policy. Event description below: “Like our previous publications, Korea Policy…

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Region: Asia,Europe

By Randall S. Jones The 2020 OECD Economic Survey of Korea released last month stressed that Korea’s economic contraction in 2020 is relatively mild compared to other advanced countries. Nevertheless, it will leave durable scars that heighten the need to tackle the challenges of population aging and low productivity. To address these challenges, the Survey…

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September 29, 2020

By Randall S. Jones The steep upward trend in housing prices has become a key social and economic issue in Korea. The failure of government policies to stabilize housing prices is blamed for a sharp fall in President Moon’s approval rating from 71% in early May, when he received credit for effective policies to stop…

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September 14, 2020

By Randall S. Jones Following a 5.0 percent decline in the first quarter of 2020, real GDP fell 12.7 percent at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (saar) in the second quarter (table below), the largest decrease since the Asian financial crisis more than two decades ago. Despite Korea’s success in limiting the spread of the coronavirus…

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July 28, 2020

By Randall S. Jones Covid-19 has had a profound economic and social impact in a number of areas, such as education and travel. Healthcare has also been affected, including a massive spike in the use of telemedicine, which was already used in a large majority of OECD countries, including Japan, as well as in China.…

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July 13, 2020

Korea is pursuing a bold strategy in an effort to achieve a paradigm shift that results in a fair economy. Some of its major initiatives – notably sharp increases in…

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Region: Asia

July 30, 2019

The tax burden in Korea—at 26 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) —was well below the average of the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)…

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Region: Asia

May 25, 2011

Korea is in the midst of the most rapid demographic transition of any member country of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the share of Korea’s population older…

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Region: Asia

May 25, 2011