New Book: Neoliberalism and Institutional Reform in East Asia, A Comparative Study

In the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis, international financial institutions suggested various neoliberal solutions for reforming economic management within East Asian countries. This book examines the structural changes that occurred in East Asia following the crisis and explores the philosophical and empirical bases of suggested solutions, and questions how far they have been adopted.

Edited by Professor Meredith Jung-En Woo of the Political Science Department of the University of Michigan, it brings together international scholars in political economy, law and sociology to interrogate the seemingly unproblematic notions - the rules of law, good corporate governance, and flexible labour market - that inform neoliberal policy prescriptions. The contributors discuss how these concepts have been interpreted and practiced in East Asia since the crisis to trace the developmental trajectory of the region since 1998.


Contents:

After the Miracle, Neoliberalism and Institutional Reform in East Asia; M.Jung-En Woo

PART ONE: LAW
Ideology, Experience and the Rule of Law in Developing Societies; F.K.Upham
Asia's Legal Systems in the Wake of the Financial Crisis: Can the Rule of Law Carry Any of the Weight?; J.K.M.Ohmesorge

PART TWO: BUREAUCRACY AND INDUSTRIAL POLICY
Re-engineering the Developmental State in an Age of Globalization: Taiwan in Defiance of Neoliberalism; Y.Chu
Developmentalism as Political Culture and Liberalization in France; M.Loriaux

PART THREE: LABOUR
Asian Regimes and the Labour Contract; J.Vartianinen
Continuity and Change in Welfare State and Production Regimes in Advanced Industrial Societies; E.Huber & J.D.Stephens

PART FOUR: GOVERNANCE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR
The Korean Corporate Governance System: Before and After the Crisis; S.Wook Joh
Institutionalizing Creative Destruction: Predictable and Transparent Bankruptcy Law in the Wake of the East Asian Financial Crisis; B.G.Carruthers & T.C.Halliday



Meredith Jung-En Woo was the external Research Co-ordinator for the UNRISD project "Neoliberalism and Institutional Reform in East Asia"