Making International Development Cooperation Effective

This is a conference for the project, Making International Development Cooperation Effective. The project has two aims: to assess the development experience of the Republic of Korea, taking into account political, social and economic dimensions; and to consider the Korean experience in order to provide relevant insights and policy lessons to developing countries. The research should provide insights to aid donors and recipients alike, and contribute to strengthening the Republic of Korea as a responsible donor.

Since joining the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) in 2010, the Republic of Korea—the first country to have transformed itself from a recipient to a donor country—has been making significant efforts to enhance the level of international cooperation for development, both in terms of aid volume and aid effectiveness.

To further contribute to this discussion, the Republic of Korea hosted the OECD–DAC’s High Level Forum 4 (HLF-4) in November 2011 in Busan where 1,000 copies of the draft conference research papers (summarized below) will be distributed.

This project is being jointly undertaken by UNRISD and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

The project conference was held at the Alumni Association Building, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea on 13 October 2011. A booklet, containing the agenda and information on the speakers and discussants was published by KOICA and is available below.

Conference booklet

Conference Presentations

Opening Ceremony
Thandika Mkandawire Keynote Speech

Session 1: Lessons from the Korean Development Experience
1-1. Ilcheong Yi PowerPoint Presentation
1-2. Thandika Mkandawire PowerPoint Presentation
1-3. Peter Evans PowerPoint Presentation
1-4. Alice Amsden PowerPoint Presentation
1-5. Ilcheong Yi and Olive Cocoman PowerPoint Presentation

Session II-1: Change and Development of Social Policy in Korea
II-1-1. Jooha Lee PowerPoint Presentation
II-1-2. Moo-Kwon Chung PowerPoint Presentation
II-1-3. Jae-jin Yang PowerPoint Presentation
II-1-4. Ilcheong Yi PowerPoint Presentation

Session II-2: Internal and External Factors of Korean Development and Sectoral Development Experience
II-2-5. Eun Mee Kim PowerPoint Presentation
II-2-6. Michael Douglass PowerPoint Presentation
II-2-7. Taekyoon Kim PowerPoint Presentation
II-2-8. Jinock Lee PowerPoint Presentation
II-2-9. Manohar Pawar and Taewook Huh PowerPoint Presentation


Summary of Research Papers
Paper 1: Social Policy and South Korea's Development: An Interrogation, by Thandika Mkandawire, Professor of African Studies, London School of Economics
This paper situates, in the development discourse, a framework of development policies for the transformation of society from poverty and non-democracy to economically and socially developed democracy. The paper focuses on the experience of the Republic of Korea from the 1940s to the early 2000s.

Paper 2: The Korean Experience and the 21st Century Transition to a Capability Enhancing Developmental State, by Peter Brandt Evans, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley
This paper focuses on the importance of capability expansion in the developmental success of the Republic of Korea.

Paper 3:Securing the Home Market: A New Approach to Korean Development Experience, by Alice H. Amsden, Barton L Weller Professor of Political Economy, MIT
This paper looks at the history of the learning process in the Republic of Korea, the impact of historical legacies and the creation of learning mechanisms for economic and social development. It also examines the implications of the political, social and economic environment in the twenty-first century.

Paper 4: Korean Experience within the Context of Development Cooperation Effectiveness, by Ilcheong Yi, Research Coordinator, UNRISD; Olive Cocoman, Research Analyst, UNRISD; You-ah Chung, Research Manager, KOICA; and Hyunjoo Rhee, Policy Analyst, KOICA
This paper considers the response of the Republic of Korea to the international financial assistance and further takes into account the political, economic and social contexts of the country that informed these responses.

Paper 5: The Korean Developmental Alliance between Business, Labour and Government, by Eun Mee Kim, Professor of International Development, Ehwa Women’s University
The politics of developmental alliances between business, labour and the government are the core component of the Korean developmental state. Placing the state at the centre of the developmental alliance, the paper examines how the Korean developmental alliance has been formed and changed, and its impact on the economic, social and political dimensions of development.

Paper 6: Institutional Linkages between Social Protection Measures and Industrialization in Korea by Jooha Lee, Assistant Professor, Dongguk University
The hierarchical linkages, both institutional and organizational, between economic and social policies vary during different phases of development. This paper considers to what extent social polices are constrained by economic policy concerns and how they can be conducive to the reduction of poverty and inequality. How did the Republic of Korea achieve strong and balanced development in production, redistribution, protection and reproduction, and foster synergies among institutions in the economic and social spheres?

Paper 7: Localizing International Transfer of Aid and Technology for the Promotion of Development: Korea's Developmental Experiences, by Taekyoon Kim, Assistant Professor, Ehwa Women's University
This paper focuses on the role of international factors in the development in the Republic of Korea, such as international aid, international agreements and obligations, the transfer of knowledge and policy, and the importation of technology and information.

Paper 8: Change and Continuity in Social Policy Responses to Economic Crises in South Korea: 1979-81 vs. 1997-98, by Jae Jin Yang, Professor/Department Chair, Department of Public Administration, Yonsei University
This paper examines institutional continuity and change in the Republic of Korea by investigating the role of social policy in addressing socioeconomic and political problems caused by the economic crisis. How has the South Korean state used social policies to respond to economic crisis, and what were the underlying dynamics of these policy reforms that made the Korean society resilient to various forms of crises?

Paper 9: Social Policy and Its Transformative Role in a Developmental Context: Lessons from the Korean Experience, by Mookwon Chung, Professor, College of Government and Economics, Yonsei University
This papers analyses the development of social transfers in the Republic of Korea. It shows how the nature of Korean social transfers depends not only on the stages of economic growth but also on a broad economic and political context where these schemes interact with each other.

Paper 10: The Development of Social Service: Education and Health Policies in Korea, by Ilcheong Yi, Research Coordinator UNRISD
This paper focuses on institutional mechanisms related to education and health systems in the Republic of Korea, with a special focus on the institutional configurations guaranteeing policy coherence and consistency.

Paper 11: The Samaul Undong in Historical Perspective and in the Contemporary World, by Michael Douglass, Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaii
This paper discusses the Saemaul Undong from the rural development perspective by examining key factors such as land reform, foreign aid, credit, grain price regulation, agricultural diversification, research and extension.

Paper 12: Gender in the Korean Development Context, by Jinock Lee, Adjunct Professor, Seongkonghoe University
This paper looks at institutional mechanisms affecting both female participation in the labour market, and paid and unpaid care work in terms of their impact on the political, economic and social dimensions of development. It focuses on core institutions that affect gender equity. It discusses the missing link within the institutional framework of Korean developmental success that has resulted in less or uneven development of gender equity.

Paper 13: Korean Responses to Environmental Challenge: Origins, Drivers and Impacts of Green Growth on Development, by Manohar Pawar, Professor of Social Policy, Charles Sturt University and Taewook Huh, Lecturer, Dankook University,
This paper explores the experience of the Republic of Korea in environmental preservation through the investigation of policy related to the environment in rapid industrialization of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and the current Korean government’s policy responses.


A Policy Brief of the research in light of the proceedings at the HLF4, will be published in March 2012.

An edited volume is currently being produced also for publication in 2012.