Um Novo “Espírito” do Capitalismo? A globalização e seu impacto na difusão do pensamento de gestão neoliberal na Alemanha e nas economias do Leste Asiático

A principal corrente da literatura sobre a globalização é bastante clara em seus pressupostos sobre como ela afeta o empreendimento industrial. Presume-se que ela dá origem a companhias transnacionais e, subsequentemente, a uma classe transnacional de executivos, que se valem do pensamento de gestão neoliberal para acelerar a transformação neoliberal da economia. Este artigo submete tais pressupostos enraizados a um forte teste empírico ao analisar quão transnacionais são as trajetórias de vida de 475 CEOs dos 100 maiores grupos industriais, tanto na Alemanha quanto na Coreia do Sul, Japão e China. Além disso, tendo realizado 148 entrevistas aprofundadas com os CEOs que ocupam os cargos mais altos, o artigo pergunta se há, de fato, um espírito neoliberal do capitalismo em funcionamento. Os resultados indicam que um pensamento de gestão neoliberal não está emergindo e que os altos executivos não são os operadores que levam a uma economia orientada para o mercado financeiro. Embora o pensamento de gestão neoliberal tenha tido algum impacto na alta gerência alemã, os vários sistemas empresariais no Leste Asiático indicam o predomínio de esquemas culturais mais nativos.Mainstream globalization literature is quite clear in its assumptions of how globalization affects industrial enterprise. It is presumed to give rise to transnational companies and subsequently, to a transnational class of managers, who use neoliberal management thinking to accelerate the neoliberal transformation of the economy. The article puts these engrained assumptions to strong empirical test by analysing how transnational the life courses of 475 CEOs of the Top 100 industrial company groups in Germany as well as in Korea, Japan, and China are. Furthermore, having carried out 148 in-depth interviews with Top CEOs, the article asks if in fact a neoliberal spirit of capitalism is at work. The findings indicate that neoliberal management thinking is not emerging and that top managers are not the switchmen leading towards a financial market-driven economy. Although neoliberal management thinking has had some impact on German top managers, the various business systems in East Asia indicate the dominance of more indigenous cultural frame

A New Spirit of Capitalism? – Globalization and its Impact on the Diffusion of Neoliberal Management Thinking in Germany and the East Asian Economies

Mainstream globalization literature is quite clear in its assumptions of how globalization affects industrial enterprise. It is presumed to give rise to transnational companies and subsequently, to a transnational class of managers, who use neoliberal management thinking to accelerate the neoliberal transformation of the economy. The article puts these engrained assumptions to strong empirical test by analysing how transnational the life courses of 475 CEOs of the Top 100 industrial company groups in Germany as well as in Korea, Japan, and China are. Furthermore, having carried out 148 in-depth interviews with Top CEOs, the article asks if in fact a neoliberal spirit of capitalism is at work. The findings indicate that neoliberal management thinking is not emerging and that top managers are not the switchmen leading towards a financial market-driven economy. Although neoliberal management thinking has had some impact on German top managers, the various business systems in East Asia indicate the dominance of more indigenous cultural frames

Restructuring Revisited: Flexible Korea and Rigid Japan

Korea has successfully undergone economic restructuring, as compared to Japan. The "flexibility" of Korea and "rigidity" of Japan are strongly related to the differences between development strategies the two countries adopted. Although Korea adopted the Japanese developmental state model, it excluded workers from the development coalition. Whereas excluded workers had been a source of instability in the Korean system, the well-found coalition of government, business, and workers in Japan had guaranteed stability of the system. This difference was not conspicuous before the economic crises; strong performance of the Korean economy and a heavy-handed government had silenced discontented Korean workers. When the crisis occurred, Korean workers demanded the overhaul of the system, while Japanese workers did not. While Japan attempted to protect the system, Korea dismantled it due to the lack of support of the disenchanted Korean people, in addition to pressure from IMF and foreign countries. Though Korea has been successful in revamping its economic system and regaining economic growth since restructuring after the economic crisis of 1997, the new system is not stable. Workers, still not fully represented in national decision-making processes, are calling for revision of the system, and are frequently expressing their anger. Japan, reluctant to accept an Anglo-American economic model, is struggling to get out of a sluggish economy, but it still enjoys a relatively stable social system

'A New Wine in A New Bottle?' : The Social and Political Realignment under Restructuring in South Korea

This paper investigates the social and political concomitants of structural adjustment in South Korea. After three years of restructuring in the financial, corporate, employment, and public sectors under the IMF"s oversight, South Korea has undergone a profound societal transformation. It will be argued that the neo-liberal, market-oriented reform policies of Kim Dae Jung regime are aimed at improving national competitiveness by strengthening transnational linkages. Specifically, this paper will address ⅰ) the basic policy lines of structural adjustment programs in terms of achievements and failures, ⅱ) the resulting social and political realignment with regard to power distribution and class alliance, and ⅲ) the lessons from Mexican restructuring where the bright and dark sides have coexisted. This paper concludes that restructuring is a necessity for South Korea, but its current structural adjustment is conservative and cosmetic. In order to survive the violent 21st century, South Korea needs to undergo more fundamental restructuring based on a new alternative paradigm of development

Between Neoliberalism and Democracy : The Transformation of the Developmental State in South Korea

This study addresses the transformation of the South Korean developmental state since the early 1990s in relation to globalization and neoliberal restructuring. First, several key analytical-concepts are discussed for the study. Next, we examine two recent civilian- governments' major policies that have accelerated the transformation. Then, we spell out the changes of three major institutional actors in the developmental-state framework, i.e., the state, banks, and chaebols, which have resulted from the aforementioned conditions and policies. In conclusion, we argue that an alternative path should be followed instead of the current path of neoliberal transformation in South Korea to achieve a form of substantively-democratic development

Regional Community Building in Northeast Asia in a Global Context

In the context of power shift from Europe to Asia, Asia is creating a new history as the most dynamic region in the world. Historically, Asian countries have long maintained cultural and institutional connections within the region through constant contact, exchange, trade, and warfare. These cultural and institutional linkages serve as a cohesive factor for Asian countries to converge on regional commonness despite intraregional disparities. When looking at Northeast Asia, the center of Asian dynamism, the regions future is beset by serious challenges and threats, complicated by historical conflicts and territorial disputes. Building a regional community is crucial to turn tension and conflict to cooperation and coexistence in the region, but it is hampered by hegemonic competition under the rise of nationalism. As a way out, they should take both economic and cultural approaches toward the creation of regional community according to bilateral principles based upon one-to-one negotiations. In this regard, the non-expansionary stance of Korea so far gives her a moral hegemonic precedence over China and Japan in Northeast Asian community building.This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2012-413-B00006)

Type 2 Myocardial Infarction Following Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizure

Myocardial infarction is diagnosed when blood levels of biomarkers are increased in the clinical setting of acute myocardial ischemia. Among the biomarkers, troponin I is the preferred biomarker indicative of myocardial necrosis. It is tissue specific for the heart. Myocardial infarction is rarely reported following seizure. We report a case of elevated troponin I in a patient after an episode of generalized tonic-clonic seizure. The diagnosis was type 2 myocardial infarction

The Mildly Elevated Serum Bilirubin Level is Negatively Associated with the Incidence of End Stage Renal Disease in Patients with IgA Nephropathy

Oxidative stress plays various roles in the development and progression of IgA nephropathy, while bilirubin is known as a potent antioxidant. We therefore hypothesized that serum bilirubin would be associated with renal prognosis in IgA nephropathy. The study subjects comprised 1,458 adult patients with primary IgA nephropathy in Korea. We grouped patients according to the following quartile levels of bilirubin: <0.4 mg/dL (Q1), 0.4-0.5 mg/dL (Q2), 0.6-0.7 mg/dL (Q3), and >0.8 mg/dL (Q4). The outcome data were obtained from the Korean Registry of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Eighty patients (5.5%) contracted ESRD during a mean follow-up period of 44.9 months. The ESRD incidences were 10.7% in Q1, 8.2% in Q2, 2.8% in Q3, and 2.8% in Q4 (p<0.001). The relative risk of ESRD compared to that in Q1 was 0.307 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.126-0.751) in Q3 and 0.315 (95% CI, 0.130-0.765) in Q4. The differences of ESRD incidence were greater in subgroups of males and of patients aged 35 yr or more, with serum albumin 4.0 g/dL or more, with normotension, with eGFR 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 or more, and with proteinuria less then 3+ by dipstick test. In conclusion, higher bilirubin level was negatively associated with ESRD incidence in IgA nephropathy

Neural Stem Cells Achieve and Maintain Pluripotency without Feeder Cells

Background: Differentiated cells can be reprogrammed into pluripotency by transduction of four defined transcription factors. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are expected to be useful for regenerative medicine as well as basic research. Recently, the report showed that mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) cells are not essential for reprogramming. However, in using fibroblasts as donor cells for reprogramming, individual fibroblasts that had failed to reprogram could function as feeder cells. Methodology/Principal Finding: Here, we show that adult mouse neural stem cells (NSCs), which are not functional feeder cells, can be reprogrammed into iPS cells using defined four factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc) under feeder-free conditions. The iPS cells, generated from NSCs expressing the Oct4-GFP reporter gene, could proliferate for more than two months (passage 20). Generated and maintained without feeder cells, these iPS cells expressed pluripotency markers (Oct4 and Nanog), the promoter regions of Oct4 and Nanog were hypomethylated, could differentiated into to all three germ layers in vitro, and formed a germline chimera. These data indicate that NSCs can achieve and maintain pluripotency under feeder-free conditions. Conclusion/Significance: This study suggested that factors secreted by feeder cells are not essential in the initial/early stages of reprogramming and for pluripotency maintenance. This technology might be useful for a human system, as