ABSTRACT
Prior to the Asia crisis these two economies were often cited as examples of identical economic phenomena, characterised by high and sustained economic growth and export-led industrialisation. But while Taiwan and Korea have always been broadly similar in economic structure, performance and policies, there have also been important differences in the means by which development was achieved. State intervention has always been more overt in Korea than in Taiwan. The Taiwan government did not promote private industrial conglomerates. Nor did it attempt the intense drive into heavy industry that Korea embarked on in the 1970s.
