A REEXAMINATION OF SOUTH KOREA¡¯S AGGREGATE IMPORT DEMAND FUNCTION: THE BOUNDS TEST ANALYSIS

This paper uses a robust estimation method referred to as the unrestricted error correction model - the bounds test analysis to re-analyze the long-term relationships between the demand for imports and it¡¯s determinants for South Korea over the period 1980-2000. Our results show that the volume of imports, income, and relative prices are all cointegrated. The estimated long-run (short-run) elasticities of import demand with respect to income and relative price are 1.86 (0.86) and -0.2 (-0.05), respectively. The major implication of our study is that neither monetary nor fiscal policies may be used as instruments to maintain the trade balance in South Korea¡¯s favor during this sample period.Aggregate Import Demand Function, UECM, Bounds Test Analysis

REVISITING HYSTERESIS IN UNEMPLOYMENT FOR TEN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: AN EMPIRICAL NOTE ON A MORE POWERFUL NONLINEAR (LOGISTIC) UNIT ROOT

In this empirical note we use a more powerful nonlinear (logistic) unit root test advanced by Leybourne et al. (1998) to investigate the hysteresis in unemployment for ten European countries for the period 1961-2003. The hypothesis is confirmed for all the European countries for which Leybourne et al.¡¯s (1998) nonlinear (logistic) unit root test is performed, except for Belgium and the UK.Hysteresis in Unemployment, European Countries, Logistic Unit Root Tests

Reinventing the Government to Nourish Innovation Ecosystem

Since the late 1990s, instead of encouraging first-movers to challenge and take risks, innovation related policies of Korean government, such as science and technology policies, industrial policies, and university policies, induced the first-movers to avoid risks. Likewise, these same policies also blocked out active interactions between each level of technology. For these reasons, we criticize here that the Korean government has failed to nourish first-mover innovation ecosystem despite the enormous expansion in the government budget for innovation. Based on such critical assessments, this research suggests that Korean government should focus on reducing its bureaucratic control, which revolves around regulations and interferences, and also on establishing the innovation ecosystem. To these ends, we suggest a government reform transforming Korean government into cooperative government, strategic government, and innovative government

Review on the current trends in tongue diagnosis systems

AbstractTongue diagnosis is an essential process to noninvasively assess the condition of a patient's internal organs in traditional medicine. To obtain quantitative and objective diagnostic results, image acquisition and analysis devices called tongue diagnosis systems (TDSs) are required. These systems consist of hardware including cameras, light sources, and a ColorChecker, and software for color correction, segmentation of tongue region, and tongue classification. To improve the performance of TDSs, various types TDSs have been developed. Hyperspectral imaging TDSs have been suggested to acquire more information than a two-dimensional (2D) image with visible light waves, as it allows collection of data from multiple bands. Three-dimensional (3D) imaging TDSs have been suggested to provide 3D geometry. In the near future, mobile devices like the smart phone will offer applications for assessment of health condition using tongue images. Various technologies for the TDS have respective unique advantages and specificities according to the application and diagnostic environment, but this variation may cause inconsistent diagnoses in practical clinical applications. In this manuscript, we reviewed the current trends in TDSs for the standardization of systems. In conclusion, the standardization of TDSs can supply the general public and oriental medical doctors with convenient, prompt, and accurate information with diagnostic results for assessing the health condition

Industrialisasi Berbasis Pertanian sebagai Grand Stratedy Pembangunan Ekonomi Nasional

EnglishAs a developing economy Indonesia, should have a comprehensive integrated long-term development plan which may be used as the guideline in implementing its national economic development as well as an instrument for evaluating government accountability and credibility. The New Order regime had prepared its first and second long-term development plan for 1969-1993 and 1993-2018 successively. The twin plans, however, has led Indonesia to the 1997-1999 multi dimensions crises and is considered in appropriate in the existing new era of total reformation. It must be totally reconstructed. For this, public discussions on the need for the government to formulated the new grand strategy of national development have emerged, but up and down, in the last two years. As an active contribution to the public debase, this paper reviews previous, Indonesia development plans, others\u27 countries experiences as well as grand theories of economic development. Then it is suggested that the agricultural based industrialization may be the most suitable one for Indonesia. The new grand strategy should be decided based on a national concensus in order to avoid the practice of just for political rhetoric\u27s as was during the New Order regime. IndonesianBagi negara berkembang seperti Indonesia, rencana pembangunan jangka panjang komprehensif-integratif sangat di perlukan sebagai acuan pelaksanaan pembangunan dan sebagai salah satu instrumen akuntabilitas dan kredibilitas pemerintah. Pemerintahaan Orde Baru telah menyusun rancangan pembangunan jangka panjang tahap I dan II masing-masing untuk peiode 1969-1993 dan 1993-2018. Rencana jangka panjang yang disusun rejim Orde Baru tersebut terbukti membawa Indonesia kedalam krisis tahun 1997-1999 dan sudah tidak sesuai dalam era Reformasi sehingga perlu dirancang ulang. Dalam dua tahun terakhir sesungguhnya telah muncul wacana publik yang menuntut agar pemerintah segera menyusun grand strategy ( strategi besar ) pembangunan nasional. Sebagai bagian dari wacana tersebut, tulisan ini mereview tentang konsepsi strategi pembangunan selama Orde Baru, pengalaman beberapa negara lain pemikiran teoritis tentang strategi pembangunan ekonomi. Berdasarkan hasil review tersebut, disarankan agar industrialisasi berbasis pertanian (agricultural based industrialization) dijadikan sebagai strategi besar (grand strategy) pembangunan nasional. Strategi tersebut haruslah dijadikan sebagai konsensus nasional, sehingga tidak sekedar retorika politik seperti pada masa Orde Baru

Is Korea Number One in Human Capital Accumulation? Education Bubble Formation and its Labor Market Evidence

This paper proposes a new conceptual framework of “education bubble” in analyzing the human capital investment and formation. We apply this concept to the Korean experience. Sixty years ago Korea was destitute not only of income but also of all sorts of education, but now it is one of the leading countries in educational attainment as well as in other conventional measures of human capital investment indices such as the PISA tests and the number of researchers. We argue, however, that such phenomenal expansion of these quantitative measures involved the problems of enormous burden of private tutoring and the mass production of low-quality higher education institutions, which did not contribute to increasing the effective unit of human capital particularly since the 1990s. We find that despite rapid increase in private educational expenditure for college entrance, the college wage premiums for the bottom two decile groups of 4-year college graduates and the bottom half of 2-year college graduates are both negative. This striking evidence from the microeconomic data suggests that such phenomenal expansion in aggregate quantity of human capital indices of Korea could be a bubble. We learn from this evidence that the quantitative expansion of education may not be good enough for sustainable development, which would guide the design of human capital policy not only for Korea but also for other developing countries