Keun Lee

Many developing countries still face difficulties initiating and sustaining economic development. Such difficulties have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an increasing divergence between rich and poor countries. One crucial question is whether to follow the trajectories of present-day rich countries or seek out different, new trajectories. Although this is a fundamental question, scholars offering mainstream prescriptions have not sufficiently explored it. Drawing on extensive empirical studies of firms and industries, Innovation and Development Detours for Latecomers proposes an effective alternative to prevailing development thinking. It presents a rich menu of development pathways, including a new role for Schumpeterian states whereby they do not follow the paths of technological development already taken by advanced countries. Rather, they can skip certain stages and even create their own detours thereby leapfrogging advanced countries in both manufacturing and service sectors. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Many developing countries still face difficulties initiating and sustaining economic development. Such difficulties have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an increasing divergence between rich and poor countries. One crucial question is whether to follow the trajectories of present-day rich countries or seek out different, new trajectories. Although this is a fundamental question, scholars offering mainstream prescriptions have not sufficiently explored it. Drawing on extensive empirical studies of firms and industries, Innovation and Development Detours for Latecomers proposes an effective alternative to prevailing development thinking. It presents a rich menu of development pathways, including a new role for Schumpeterian states whereby they do not follow the paths of technological development already taken by advanced countries. Rather, they can skip certain stages and even create their own detours thereby leapfrogging advanced countries in both manufacturing and service sectors. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Chapters 1 and 10 from this book are published open access and free to read or download from Oxford Academic. After the miraculous economic growth known as the Beijing Consensus, China is now facing a slowdown. The attention has moved to the issue of the middle income trap. This book deals with this interesting issue in the context of China. It also discusses China's limitations and future prospects, especially after the rise of a new "cold war" between China and the US, namely the question of whether China would fall into another trap called the "Thucydides trap", or conflict with the existing hegemon as a rising power. In sum, this book plays around three key terms, namely, the Beijing Consensus, the Middle Income Trap, and the Thucydides trap, and applies a Schumpeterian approach to these concepts. It also conducts a comparative analysis that examines China from an "economic catch-up" perspective. An economic catch-up starts from learning and imitating a forerunner, but finishing the race successfully requires taking a different path along the road. This act is also known as leapfrogging, which implies a latecomer doing something different from, and often ahead of, a forerunner. Technological leapfrogging may lead to technological catch-up, which means reducing the technological gap, and then finally to economic catch-up in living standards (per capita income) and economic size (GDP: economic power). This linkage from technological leapfrogging and catch-up to economic catch-up corresponds exactly with a similar linkage from the Beijing Consensus to escaping (or not) the middle income and the Thucydides traps. One conclusion from this book is that China's successful rise as a global industrial power has been due to its strategy of technological leapfrogging, which has enabled China to move beyond the middle income trap and possibly the Thucydides trap, although at a slower speed.

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.

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.

Evolutionary economics sees the economy as always in motion with change being driven largely by continuing innovation. This approach to economics, heavily influenced by the work of Joseph Schumpeter, saw a revival as an alternative way of thinking about economic advancement as a result of Richard Nelson and Sidney Winter's seminal book, An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, first published in 1982. In this long-awaited follow-up, Nelson is joined by leading figures in the field of evolutionary economics, reviewing in detail how this perspective has been manifest in various areas of economic inquiry where evolutionary economists have been active. Providing the perfect overview for interested economists and social scientists, readers will learn how in each of the diverse fields featured, evolutionary economics has enabled an improved understanding of how and why economic progress occurs.

Evolutionary economics sees the economy as always in motion with change being driven largely by continuing innovation. This approach to economics, heavily influenced by the work of Joseph Schumpeter, saw a revival as an alternative way of thinking about economic advancement as a result of Richard Nelson and Sidney Winter's seminal book, An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, first published in 1982. In this long-awaited follow-up, Nelson is joined by leading figures in the field of evolutionary economics, reviewing in detail how this perspective has been manifest in various areas of economic inquiry where evolutionary economists have been active. Providing the perfect overview for interested economists and social scientists, readers will learn how in each of the diverse fields featured, evolutionary economics has enabled an improved understanding of how and why economic progress occurs.

'The Korean experience has fascinated scholars around the world as one of the most remarkable stories of ''catch-up'' from very low to high levels of development. This book, by one of the leading Korean experts on industrial policy, argues that catch-up is not about following the paths of frontrunners but rather about finding new path to technologically ''leap-frog''. The application of this fundamental insight into the Korean story will be recognized as a landmark in this debate.'- Jose Antonio Ocampo, Columbia University, US and Formerly United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and Minister of Finance of Colombia'This book gives a full picture of the factors that made it possible for South Korea to move from being a poor economy to become close to Japan in terms of income per capita. It shows that earlier debates on the role of respective market and state are misleading and that the key to understand economic catching-up lies in specific technological strategies that were outcomes of an interplay between state policies and firm strategies. It is demonstrated that a key to understand catching-up in South Korea is 'technological leap-frogging' where dominant firms enter into technologies that are both new and in a process of rapid change. The book studies the phenomenon of leap-frogging and catching-up at respectively macro, meso and micro-level. It is thus of great interest for those who are involved in designing national, sectoral and enterprise strategies aiming at economic development and especially when the aim of the strategy is to take the step beyond a middle-income country. The combination of macro-economic analysis with sectoral and enterprise perspectives gives a more adequate understanding of economic dynamics than what traditional textbooks can offer.'- Bengt-Ake Lundvall, Aalborg University, Denmark and Founder of GlobelicsThis book elaborates upon the dynamic changes to Korean firms and the economy from the perspective of catch-up theory. The central premise of the book is that a latecomer's sustained catch-up is not possible by simply following the path of the forerunners but by creating a new path or 'leapfrogging'. In this sense, the idea of catch-up distinguishes itself from traditional views that focus on the role of the market or the state in development.The author provides a comprehensive account of the micro and macro level changes, deals with both firm- and country-level capabilities, and explores the issue of macroeconomic stability to overcome financial crisis. The book demonstrates that at the firm level the focus is on innovation capabilities, diversification, internationalization and job creation. It goes on to examine the rise and upgrading of big businesses, such as Samsung, as well as the global success of SMEs. Comprehensive and illuminating, this is an ideal book for students, academics and researchers interested in the economics of development and technological innovation. It will also be a valuable source book for policy makers in international development agencies, governments and the public sector.

One of the puzzles about why some countries have stronger economic growth than others revolves around the so-called 'middle-income trap', the situation in which a country that has grown strongly gets stuck at a certain level. In this book, Keun Lee explores the reasons why examples of successful catching-up are limited and in particular, why the Asian economies, including China, have managed to move, or are moving, beyond middle-income status but economic growth has stalled in some Latin American countries. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate using patent analysis that the secret lies in innovative systems at the firm, sector and country levels which promote investment in what the author calls 'short-cycle' technologies and thereby create a new path different from that of forerunning countries. With its comprehensive policy framework for development as well as useful quantitative methods, this is essential reading for academic researchers and practitioners.