Contributions to the Study of Late Development and Industrial Transformation

This study explores how Spain and Korea have transformed themselves from middle- to high-income economies. This transformation deserves analytical attention for three reasons. Only a few countries have reached advanced country status in the last four decades and Spain and Korea have been particularly successful. The two countries’ different patterns of upgrading go against conventional accounts that upgrading need necessarily take place through manufacturing sectors, with services playing a secondary role. Finally, the focus on two countries that have transitioned from late industrializing economies to advanced countries challenges views of the world as divided between advanced and developing economies. This chapter brings the book to a close by articulating the broader implications of the study. The chapter first discusses a series of inferences derived from the book’s characterization of upgrading as a coordination problem and the focus on state–firm interdependencies. It then examines the broader implications of the analysis for research on late development and economic transformation more generally. The final section of the chapter launches into a brief discussion about Spain’s and Korea’s post-upgrading challenges.