La realidad es más compleja que la ficción: una conversación con Ha-Joon Chang.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: La realidad es más compleja que la ficción: una conversación con Ha-Joon Chang. (Spanish).
Authors: Pérez Caldentey, Esteban, Torres, Miguel
Source: Revista de la CEPAL. ago2026, Issue 149, p223-238. 16p.
Subjects: Economic development, Economic policy, Exporters, Industrial policy, International economic relations
Geographic Terms: South Korea
Abstract (English): The article presents an interview with Ha-Joon Chang, an economist specializing in economic development, who analyzes his intellectual influences and his perspective on development policies. Chang explains how his experience living through South Korea's economic transformation in the nineteen seventies led him to study economics, and how his education at Cambridge University allowed him to develop a critical and pluralist approach that rejects neoclassical orthodoxy. He highlights three key differences between South Korea's development model and that of Latin America: the emphasis on manufacturing exports, high levels of productive investment, and the deliberate development of national capabilities through coherent industrial policies. Chang argues that developing countries need protection for infant industries to compete globally, illustrating this with the example of Hyundai, and proposes a new international economic order based on "asymmetric protectionism" that recognizes differences in development between nations. Finally, he advises young economists to maintain an open mind, develop skepticism toward single theories, and study the complex reality of world economies beyond theoretical simplifications. [Extracted from the article]
Abstract (Spanish): El artículo presenta una entrevista con Ha-Joon Chang, economista especializado en desarrollo económico, quien analiza sus influencias intelectuales y su perspectiva sobre las políticas de desarrollo. Chang explica cómo su experiencia viviendo la transformación económica de Corea del Sur en los años setenta lo llevó a estudiar economía, y cómo su formación en la Universidad de Cambridge le permitió desarrollar un enfoque crítico y pluralista que rechaza la ortodoxia neoclásica. Destaca tres diferencias clave entre el modelo de desarrollo de Corea del Sur y el de América Latina: el énfasis en las exportaciones manufactureras, los altos niveles de inversión productiva y el desarrollo deliberado de capacidades nacionales mediante políticas industriales coherentes. Chang argumenta que los países en desarrollo necesitan protección de industrias incipientes para competir globalmente, ilustrando esto con el ejemplo de Hyundai, y propone un nuevo orden económico internacional basado en el "proteccionismo asimétrico" que reconozca las diferencias en desarrollo entre naciones. Finalmente, aconseja a los jóvenes economistas mantener una mentalidad abierta, desarrollar escepticismo ante teorías únicas y estudiar la realidad compleja de las economías mundiales más allá de simplificaciones teóricas. [Extracted from the article]
Database: Referencia Latina
Description
Abstract:The article presents an interview with Ha-Joon Chang, an economist specializing in economic development, who analyzes his intellectual influences and his perspective on development policies. Chang explains how his experience living through South Korea's economic transformation in the nineteen seventies led him to study economics, and how his education at Cambridge University allowed him to develop a critical and pluralist approach that rejects neoclassical orthodoxy. He highlights three key differences between South Korea's development model and that of Latin America: the emphasis on manufacturing exports, high levels of productive investment, and the deliberate development of national capabilities through coherent industrial policies. Chang argues that developing countries need protection for infant industries to compete globally, illustrating this with the example of Hyundai, and proposes a new international economic order based on "asymmetric protectionism" that recognizes differences in development between nations. Finally, he advises young economists to maintain an open mind, develop skepticism toward single theories, and study the complex reality of world economies beyond theoretical simplifications. [Extracted from the article]
ISSN:02520257