Varieties of Capitalism in Asia, the Wait Has Ended
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Critical Studies of the Asia-Pacific “I’ve been waiting for a work that could fill the gap between the riotous reality of Asian capitalism and our spotty understanding of it. With Varieties of Capitalism in Asia, the wait has ended. The canvas of the book, like Asia itself, is expansive, and its argument nuanced and layered. By bringing society back into the study of capitalism, Hundt and Uttam offer an analysis that is as sweeping as it is revealing. This is required reading.” —A. Aneesh, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA Critical Studies of the Asia Pacific showcases new research and scholarship on what is arguably the most important region in the world in the twenty- first century. The rise of China and the continuing strategic importance of this dynamic economic area to the United States mean that the Asia- Pacific will remain crucially important to policymakers and scholars alike. The unifying theme of the series is a desire to publish the best theoreti- cally-informed, original research on the region. Titles in the series cover the politics, economics and security of the region, as well as focusing on its institutional processes, individual countries, issues and leaders. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14940 David Hundt • Jitendra Uttam Varieties of Capitalism in Asia Beyond the Developmental State David Hundt Jitendra Uttam Faculty of Arts and Education School of International Studies Deakin University Jawaharlal Nehru University Burwood 3125, Australia New Delhi, India Critical Studies of the Asia-Pacific ISBN 978-0-230-24031-5 ISBN 978-1-349-58974-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-349-58974-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017938882 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights aresolelyandexclusivelylicensedbythe Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodol- ogy now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Cover illustration: Jenny Vong Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS David Hundt: Many people played a part in bringing this project to successful completion. I would first like to thank Mark Beeson (University of Western Australia), the commissioning editor of the Critical Studies in the Asia–Pacific series at Palgrave, for his encouragement and support at several points over the past few years. Baogang He (Deakin University) provided insightful comments on the manuscript as it neared completion and helped to strengthen its key arguments. Matthew Clarke (Head of School, Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University) granted me enough time in the second half of 2016 so that the book could be completed. Michael Hatherell, Belinda Townsend, and Vanessa Smith (all Deakin University) helped to bring the book together through their outstanding research assistance and helpful feedback on some of the chapters. KC Suri and other colleagues at a conference and workshop held in Hyderabad in 2012 and 2013 offered input at the earliest stages of this manuscript, and helped to shape the direction of the argument. Finally, I am grateful to my family for their support during the completion of this book. Finishing a project of this scale requires a lot of effort as well as time, and far too often that time was taken away from those nearest and dearest to me. Jitendra Uttam: I would like to sincerely appreciate the contribution made by three academic institutions – Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India; Seoul National University in Seoul, Korea; and Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia – in shaping of my views about capital- ism, socialism and the understanding of qualitative differences in the v vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS economic development of diverse and vast Asian region. A series of discussions with H.E. Mr Cho Hyun, Korean Ambassador in New Delhi, focused on the rise of capitalism in Korea and India’s tumultuous journey from socialism to capitalism helped me formulate ideas about the importance of social embeddedness in the process of economic develop- ment. A preparatory workshop jointly organised by the University of Hyderabad, India and Australia’s Deakin University on ‘varieties of capit- alism’ offered many useful suggestions that helped in the widening of my understanding regarding socioeconomic forces causing diversity in the capitalist mode of production. I would like to personally thank Yogendra Yadav, Surajit Mazumdar and Balveer Arora for their ideas and sugges- tions. This work was supported by the university with potential for excel- lence (UPE II) scheme. I acknowledge time and space provided by my loving family that enabled me to spare enormous time in this book writing endeavour. I am indebted to my wife Elena’s explanation based on her Russian experiences about having capitalism without capitalist class, and the politics of creating an entrepreneurial-industrial class. CONTENTS 1 Asia Amid the Varieties of Capitalism Debate 1 1.1 Capitalism in Asia After WWII 5 1.2 A New Approach to Analysing Asian Capitalism 10 1.3 Understanding Embeddedness 12 1.4 Structure of the Book 17 Notes 21 2 State and Society in Asian Capitalism 23 2.1 The Developmental State in Retrospect 25 2.2 The Varieties of Capitalism and Asia 29 2.3 The Social Origins of Asian Capitalism 31 2.3.1 The Socioeconomic Base of Capitalism 31 2.3.2 Capitalist Institutions and Social Embeddedness 34 2.3.3 The Politics of Economic Regimes 36 3 Japan’s Collective Capitalism and the Origins of the Asian Model 39 3.1 The Transformation of Capitalism in Japan 41 3.1.1 The Notion of Collective Capitalism 41 3.1.2 How Much Transformation? 44 3.2 The Socioeconomic Base of Collective Capitalism 48 3.2.1 The Rise of Mercantilism 50 3.3 Capitalist Institutions in Japan 51 3.3.1 The Significance of Land Reforms 52 vii viii CONTENTS 3.3.2 Big Business and the Financial Sector 54 3.3.3 The Ruling Party and the Bureaucracy 56 3.3.4 The Role of Labour 57 3.3.5 The Embeddedness of Collective Capitalism 59 3.4 Economic Policy and Strategy 64 3.4.1 Opening Up? 64 3.4.2 Industrial Policy 66 3.4.3 Monetary and Fiscal Policy 68 3.4.4 Financial-Sector Policy 69 3.4.5 Science and Technology Policy 71 3.4.6 Labour Market Policy 73 3.5 Conclusion 75 Note 76 4 Confucian Capitalism: ‘Organised from the Top’ in Korea and ‘Reorganised from the Bottom’ in Taiwan 77 4.1 Shared Historical Context and the Development of Capitalism 79 4.1.1 Impact of Chinese Cultural Flows 79 4.1.2 Colonialism, Land Reform, and the Cold War 81 4.2 The Making of Confucian Capitalism 84 4.3 Structural–Institutional Dynamics 85 4.3.1 Societal Institutions 85 4.3.2 State Institutions 87 4.3.3 Bureaucratic–Technocratic Institutions 90 4.3.4 Financial Institutions 93 4.3.5 Labour Institutions 96 4.4 Economic Policy and Strategy in Korea 99 4.4.1 Exchange Rate and Trade Policies 101 4.4.2 Financial Repression and Deregulation 104 4.4.3 Science and Technology Policy 106 4.5 Taiwan’s Economic Policy and Strategy 107 4.5.1 Exchange Rate and Trade Policies 110 4.5.2 Savings, Financial Repression, and FDI 111 4.5.3 Science and Technology Policy 112 4.6 Conclusion 114 Notes 115 CONTENTS ix 5 Entrepôt Capitalism in Hong Kong and Singapore 117 5.1 The Development of Entrepôt Capitalism 119 5.1.1 Quality of Governance 120 5.1.2 Coexistence of State and Market 123 5.2 The Socioeconomic Base of Entrepôt Capitalism 125 5.2.1 Embedding Entrepôt Capitalism in Society 125 5.2.2 A Conservative Style of Embedded Capitalism 128 5.3 Two Variants of Entrepôt Capitalism 131 5.3.1 State Capitalism in Singapore 132 5.3.2 Hong Kong’s Liberal Capitalism 134 5.3.3 Social Responses to Entrepôt Capitalism 135 5.4 Economic Policy and Strategy in Singapore and Hong Kong 138 5.4.1 Industrial Policy 139 5.4.2 Science and Technology Policy 142 5.4.3 Free Trade Agreements and Increasing Interdependence 143 5.5 Conclusion 145 6 Malaysia’s ‘State Capitalism’ and Thailand’s ‘Alliance Capitalism’ 149 6.1 The Evolution of Capitalism in Southeast Asia 151 6.1.1 Early Capitalist Accumulation 152 6.1.2 Colonialism, Class, and Capital 154 6.1.3 The Post-colonial Period 156 6.2 Ideas, Ideologies, and