The Korean model of development planning and its applicability to African developing countries

Abstract

The demand for the Korean model of development planning is rapidly growing across the world, especially from those countries which are in their take-off period. When it comes to the issue of what exactly to learn from Korean experience, however, it is rather difficult to generalize because FYEDPs have been changed with the development of the Korean economy. In this thesis, African countries are classified into three groups by utilizing economic and social indicators including the income level, degree of industrialization, and literacy ratio. The priority of the “pre-transition” countries should be the poverty eradication through industrialization and resource financing from abroad. The “intransition” countries should focus on increasing investment resources and upgrading the production capacity with technology development as to accelerate the transition of economy. The “transitioned” countries should put the social development high on their development agenda along with economic growth since unbalanced and unsustainable economy can be led towards a “middle-income trap” with economic stagnation and low level of social development. As a case study, the Ethiopia’s GTP is reviewed based on the Korea’s development experience. Ethiopia has a well-designed development plan with full ownership under a strong leader. And yet, the specific implementation strategy is missing due to lack of capacity and institution and resource constraints. Four main areas are defined to be focused to enhance feasibility of the GTP: identifying the sectors by priority; building institutions; financing resources, and; establishing the roadmap towards sustainable development.