Performance of the Service Sector in the Republic of Korea: An Empirical Investigation

40 Pages Posted: 9 Jan 2013

See all articles by Donghyun Park

Donghyun Park

Asian Development Bank - Economic Research

Kwanho Shin

Korea University

Date Written: December 2012

Abstract

There is a widespread perception that the Republic of Korea’s service sector lags behind its dynamic world-class manufacturing sector. We empirically analyze the past performance of the Republic of Korea’s service sector in order to assess its prospects as an engine of growth. Our analysis resoundingly confirms the conventional wisdom of an underperforming service sector. In light of the Republic of Korea’s high income and development level, the poor performance of modern services is of particular concern. We identify a number of factors underlying the poor performance, and set forth policy recommendations for addressing them. Overall, the Republic of Korea faces a challenging but navigable road ahead in developing a high value-added service sector.

Keywords: services, structural change, growth, productivity, Republic of Korea

JEL Classification: O14, O40, O47

Suggested Citation

Park, Donghyun and Shin, Kwanho, Performance of the Service Sector in the Republic of Korea: An Empirical Investigation (December 2012). Asian Development Bank Economics Working Paper Series No. 324, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2198146 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2198146

Donghyun Park (Contact Author)

Asian Development Bank - Economic Research ( email )

6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550
Metro Manila
Philippines

Kwanho Shin

Korea University ( email )

1 Anam-dong 5 ka
Sunbuk-Ku, Department of Economics
Seoul 136-701
Korea
82-2-3290-2220 (Phone)
82-2-3290-2719 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: econ.korea.ac.kr/~khshin

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
73
Abstract Views
691
Rank
580,727
PlumX Metrics