Korea's outward FDI in Asia : characteristics and prospects

PowerPoint presentationKorea has become one of the main providers of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Asia. The presentation provides tables of trends and patterns. Korea’s FDI in Asia has expanded rapidly due to high wage, labor disputes, and rapid appreciation

Disease-specific Proteins from Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatiory disease that mainly destroys cartilages or bones at the joints. This inflammatory disorder is initiated by self-attack using own immune system, but the detail of pathological mechanism is unclear. Features of autoantigens leading to autoimmune disease are also under veil although several candidates including type II collagen have been suggested to play a role in pathogenesis. In this report, we tried to identify proteins responding to antibodies purified from RA patients and screen proteins up-regulated or down-regulated in RA using proteomic approach. Fibronectin, semaphorin 7A precursor, growth factor binding protein 7 (GRB7), and immunoglobulin µ chain were specifically associated with antibodies isolated from RA synovial fluids. In addition, some metabolic proteins such as adipocyte fatty acid binding protein, galectin-1 and apolipoprotein A1 precursor were overexpressed in RA synovium. Also, expression of peroxiredoxin 2 was up-regulated in RA. On the contrary, expression of vimentin was severely suppressed in RA synoviocytes. Such findings might give some insights into understanding of pathological mechanism in RA

A Roadmap for East Asian Monetary Integration: The Necessary First Step

The paper deals with the questions of why Asian monetary and financial cooperation has not proceeded rapidly even though the countries have discussed this issue for so long and how to overcome this problem. The authors identify the lack of a common vision and a roadmap for monetary integration as the most significant impediments.Asian Monetary Integration, OCA theory, Roadmap

A Roadmap for the Asian Exchange Rate Mechanism

Given the increaing importance of capital market development for financial stability and mulitlateral cooperation for sustained growth, a country's choice of exchange rate regime is hardly trivial. Instead of relying on a series of individually managed floats, it would be better for each country to target its currency against a basket of other currencies. A still much better alternative would be to form a regional block, which would tie Asian currencies together and create a regional currency while allowing them to float against major currencies. Whether the type is an individual peg to a tailored basket or a multilateral peg to a common basket remains to be determined. Under any plausible scenario, some type of regional currency needs to be developed to promote an environment suitable for financial and monetary cooperation that is, in turn, conducive to capital market development. Since conditions in th region are increasingly favorable for an OCA (Optimal Currency Area), such cooperation would be mutually beneficial as well as globally desirable.ACU, Asian Currency Unit, Asian Exchange Rate

The Korean Economic Adjustment to the World Financial Crisis

The global financial crisis hit the Korean economy in two ways. First, the sudden reversal of capital flow dried up the domestic and international liquidity. Second, the global contraction of demand reduced Korea's export by over 40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Consequently, the Korean currency depreciated sharply and the economic growth rate fell drastically. Even though Korea could not prevent the 2008 crisis, it was the first OECD country to escape the negative economic growth zone, possibly because of three reasons. First, Korea might have had better initial conditions than other economies thanks to the reform measures after the 1997-–98 Asian financial crisis. Second, the Korean government has had significant experience in dealing with crises. Third, Korea had an international network of cooperation to establish swap arrangements of US$$ 90 billion to stabilize foreign exchange market. Even though the Korean economy has become more resilient to future financial crises by learning from the crisis in 1997, the small open economy still has limited capacity to stabilize the financial market. Korea now faces a new issue, which is to learn from the global crisis on how to stabilize the foreign exchange market. (c)© 2011 The Earth Institute at Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A Roadmap for the Asian Exchange Rate Mechanism

Given the increaing importance of capital market development for financial stability and mulitlateral cooperation for sustained growth, a country's choice of exchange rate regime is hardly trivial. Instead of relying on a series of individually managed floats, it would be better for each country to target its currency against a basket of other currencies. A still much better alternative would be to form a regional block, which would tie Asian currencies together and create a regional currency while allowing them to float against major currencies. Whether the type is an individual peg to a tailored basket or a multilateral peg to a common basket remains to be determined. Under any plausible scenario, some type of regional currency needs to be developed to promote an environment suitable for financial and monetary cooperation that is, in turn, conducive to capital market development. Since conditions in th region are increasingly favorable for an OCA (Optimal Currency Area), such cooperation would be mutually beneficial as well as globally desirable.ACU, Asian Currency Unit, Asian Exchange Rate

Understanding North Korea's Economic Crisis

This paper provides an overview of the current economic situation in North Korea and suggests some possible strategies for recovery, including ways of mobilizing financing and implementing essential market reforms. Throughout the 1990s, North Korea suffered a severe economic downturn after the abrupt collapse of the cooperative network of socialist countries. Because the needs of the military had been given first priority and foreign trade was limited, infrastructure and capital stock deteriorated. At present North Korea is in a poverty trap, and the plans of the State Planning Commission no longer work. In addition to the "official" economy, North Korea's overall economic structure includes economies run by the Workers Party, the military, and ordinary citizens (the informal market). Efforts to promote foreign investment and trade, combined with only small changes in this inefficient economic structure, are unlikely to succeed. North Korea's economic rehabilitation should begin with more market-oriented policy reforms and capital formation, but because the country is unable to design and implement economic reforms or to accumulate capital stock on its own, assistance must be sought from outside. Copyright (c) 2002 Center for International Development and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.