COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MODELS. POLAND AND THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Poland and South Korea are widely recognised as successful examples of economic transformation. As a result of transformation, poor and economically underdeveloped states have managed to maintain extraordinary economic growth for a long time, significantly improving their citizens’ quality of life and joining the group of highly developed economies. The changes in both states were implemented on the basis of consistent references to two different paradigms of political economy: interventionist and liberal. This article presents theoretical models of growth, trying to match them with the practical dimension of the economic policy of the two states. The aim of the comparison is to define and present these models and their empirical verification. The period of the study in the case of South Korea comprises mainly the developments after 1961, and in the case of Poland, the reforms after 1989. The article consists of five sections dealing, respectively, with: theoretical aspects of development; justification of the comparison and the choices made by the states; transformation in South Korea; transformation in Poland; and finally, the summary.