Effects of Military Development on Economic Growth in North and South Korea, 1945-1980

摘要

Since the end of the Korean War, both Koreas have maintained their military forces in a high state of readiness. Until recently, the strategic environment on the Korean Peninsula was largely determined by the quantity and quality of arms supplied by major allies. Since the late 1960's, however, both North and South Korea have pursued policies to develop their own indigenous arms industries, expanded their defense budgets, and implemented military modernization programs. It is the hypothesis of this thesis that North Korea is more adversely affected by defense spending than South Korea. Although North and South Korea have structurally different economic systems, the same set of financial constraints apply for each. By paralleling military development and economic growth patterns for both North and South Korea, evidence of different effects of defense spending on economic growth of the two countries can be determined. These findings will then be used to project the prospects for peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula in the 1980's. (Author)