Globalisation and Trade Liberalisation in Supporting GVCs Upgrade: The Case of the Republic of Korea

Abstract

The Republic of Korea (henceforth Korea) has managed to achieve sustained economic growth by moving up the value chains. It took Korea only 15 years to transform from an upper middle-income into a high-income country. This paper uses Korea as a case study on how a country can build up core competitiveness in hi-tech industry and develop into a globally competitive and innovative economy by moving up the value chains. It shows the effectiveness of globalisation and trade liberalisation in supporting the country’s domestic development strategy.