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Keun Lee

Keun Lee

Writing for PS since 2021
9 commentaries

Keun Lee, a former vice chair of the National Economic Advisory Council for the President of South Korea, is Distinguished Professor of Economics at Seoul National University and the author of China’s Technological Leapfrogging and Economic Catch-up: A Schumpeterian Perspective (Oxford University Press, 2022).

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  1. Will the New Industrial Policy Work?
    klee11_MANAN VATSYAYANAAFP via Getty Images_vinfastvietnamelectricvehicle Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images

    Will the New Industrial Policy Work?

    Feb 24, 2023 Keun Lee highlights common mistakes that governments must avoid when promoting critical sectors.

  2. A Korean Trajectory for China?
    klee10_HECTOR RETAMALAFP via Getty Images_china protest democracy HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images

    A Korean Trajectory for China?

    Dec 15, 2022 Keun Lee breathes new life into the hope that the emergence of a large middle class can spur democratization.

  3. How to Save Emerging Economies from Another Crisis
    klee9_Tomas CuestaGetty Images_inflation argentina Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images

    How to Save Emerging Economies from Another Crisis

    Oct 19, 2022 Keun Lee argues that, with the US exporting inflation, countries should embrace macroprudential measures.

  4. Sustaining Economic Growth in an Age of Deglobalization
    klee8_Giles ClarkeGetty Images_palm oil malaysia Giles Clarke/Getty Images

    Sustaining Economic Growth in an Age of Deglobalization

    Aug 17, 2022 Keun Lee sees the experiences of Malaysia and Chile as useful case studies for escaping the middle-income trap.

  5. How Realistic Are China’s Semiconductor Ambitions?
    klee7_Wang GangChina News Service via Getty Images_chinasemiconductor Wang Gang/China News Service via Getty Images

    How Realistic Are China’s Semiconductor Ambitions?

    Jun 27, 2022 Keun Lee considers what it would take for the country to leapfrog incumbents in an economically critical industry.

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  1. bildt109_JAAFAR ASHTIYEHAFP via Getty Images_israelpalestinewestbank Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images

    Hell in the Holy Land

    Carl Bildt fears that the stage is set for another major violent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
  2. strain11_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_fed Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    The Fed Must Not Flinch

    Michael R. Strain urges the US central bank to continue raising interest rates, despite signs of financial-sector fragility.
  3. sheng135_Carl CourtGetty Images_maldivesclimatechange Carl Court/Getty Images

    Reimagining Development

    Andrew Sheng & Xiao Geng argue that grassroots engagement and social enterprise are crucial to achieving countries' aspirations.
  4. goldberg22_ERIC BARADATAFP via Getty Images_world bank ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images

    What the World Bank Can Do About Climate Change

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg explains how the institution can maximize its contribution to the global net-zero agenda.
  5. GettyImages-1171447879

    Richard Haass on Russia, Taiwan, and US democracy

    Richard Haass explains what caused the Ukraine war, urges the West to scrutinize its economic dependence on China, proposes ways to reverse the dangerous deterioration of democracy in America, and more.
  6. buiter45_Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post via Getty Image_jeromepowell Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    Price Stability vs. Financial Stability?

    Willem H. Buiter

    If the US Federal Reserve raises its policy interest rate by as much as is necessary to rein in inflation, it will most likely further depress the market value of the long-duration securities parked on many banks' balance sheets. So be it.

    thinks central banks can achieve both, despite the occurrence of a liquidity crisis amid high inflation.
  7. frankel145_ Richard Baker  In Pictures via Getty Images_exchangerates Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images

    Fifty Years of Floating Currencies

    Jeffrey Frankel

    The half-century since the official demise of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates has shown the benefits of what replaced it. While some may feel nostalgic for the postwar monetary system, its collapse was inevitable, and what looked like failure has given rise to a remarkably resilient regime.

    explains why the shift toward exchange-rate flexibility after 1973 was not a policy failure, as many believed.
  8. harrington34_Drew AngererGetty Images_avril haines Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    What Do America’s Spies Really Think About China?

    Kent Harrington thinks the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment should have delved deeper on the issue.
  9. grafton2_ SIMON MAINAAFP via Getty Images_water SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images

    Waking Up to the World’s Water Crisis

    Quentin Grafton, et al. see three overarching priorities for the first global water conference in almost a half-century.

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