Development, Discernment, and Death: Dore on the South Korean Economy

Ron Dore’s 1977 article in Pacific Affairs, “South Korean Development in Wider Perspective,” is a rare example of the scholar known for his writings on Japan applying his analytical lens on South Korea. What were some of this article’s most notable areas of foresight and elision related to development studies? This essay answers this question by interpreting connections to publications before and after 1977 to analyze areas of insight under the rubric of “discernment” and overlooked subjects under “death.” On one hand, Dore’s essay was ahead of the curve in its deft foreshadowing of post-developmentalist, varieties of capitalism, and developmental state approaches to economic development. On the other, Dore sidestepped the effects of death on economic development in three forms: literal—effects of changing mortality rates on investments in education and human capital; industries related to death—wars, munitions production and arms expenditures; and the aftereffects of the death of a scholar—the revisiting and renewal of debates that can sometimes emerge as a result.

发展、洞察力和死亡: 道尔论韩国经济

关键词：韩国；经济发展；发展后；资本主义类型说；发展性国家；死亡率；军火；死亡。

罗纳多·道尔1977年在《太平洋事务》上发表的文章〈用更广阔的视角看韩国发展〉是一个以日本研究著称的学者将其分析视角应用于韩国的极其罕见的例子。其中有哪些与发展研究相关的最突出的远见和短板？ 本文通过追踪其与1977年之前和之后发表的著作的联系来回答这个问题，以“观察力”为题突出和分析其洞见，以“死亡”为题分析他所忽略的主题。从一方面来说，道尔的论文以其娴熟分析提前预示了发展后主义、资本主义类型说以及发展性国家等方法而引领潮流；另一方面，道尔搁置了死亡对经济发展的影响——这完全从字面意义而言的——包括：变化的死亡率对教育及人力资本投资的影响；死亡产业——战争、军火制造以及军备开支；以及学者逝去所带来的余波——旧日的争论常常会因为学者身殁而重新得到关注，并被重续。

Translated from English by Li Guo