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Showing posts from July, 2011

Park Chung-hee: Dictator or benevolent autocrat? (The Korea Herald, July 20, 2011)

The Korea Herald published my analysis of Willam Easterly's paper "Benevolent Autocrats." Check it out at the CFE Website . Easterly questions if "benevolent autocrats" really deserve credit for high economic growth. The Idiots' Collective calls it "a must-read" piece. I agree. [Casey Lartigue, Jr.] Park Chung-hee: Dictator or benevolent autocrat? It ain’t necessarily so. That’s what New York University economics professor William Easterly essentially says about crediting “benevolent autocrats” like South Korea’s Park Chung-hee for high growth rates. In “Benevolent Autocrats,” a provocative working paper posted in May, Easterly 1) argues that economists should be skeptical of the “benevolent autocrat” theory; (2) questions whether benevolent autocrats truly deserve credit for growth; (3) and concedes he is making a losing argument because cognitive biases lead many to believe in benevolent autocrats regardless

Korea's kings and queens in government even control the temperature

Korea Herald columnist Kim Seong-kon  argues in favor of the incorporation of Seoul National University. One of the reasons he notes is too much government control now, including, even the temperatures in government-related institutions. He writes: 26 degrees, by government mandate. "Personally, I support the incorporation of Seoul National University. Currently, SNU faculty members are tied up with all sorts of bureaucratic procedures and government red tape that seriously hamper their research activities. For example, government regulations stipulate that all rooms shall be set at 26 degrees Celsius in government-related institutions." I don`t have a problem with the government controlling the temperature in government-related institutions. I do have a problem with government control of temperatures in private homes and businesses. If I want a sauna in my home, that`s my business. Or, on the contrary, if I want it so cold that I have icicles hangin

2011-07-07 Korea-EU FTA conference

July 2011: Once upon a time, I was focused on political and economic issues in South Korea. I was then Manager of International Relations at the Center for Free Enterprise, later promoted to director. I wasn't determined to stay in Korea at that time, but several months later that changed, destroying my professional career. In this particular photo, I was one of the organizers of a conference about the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement in July 2011. A few notes: The think tank world is much easier and pays much better than founding and developing an organization focused on North Korean refugees. Sometimes, I wonder what I was thinking when I left that soft cushy think tank world routinely holding events at plush hotels. I can't blame anyone, because I left the think tank world TWICE, and rejected overtures to return to it a few years ago. Fool myself once, blame myself. Fool myself twice or more? * Parenthetically, some people ask if I take photos for Facebook. This conference was

CFE forum on Korea-EU FTA (Korea Herald)

Public forum on FTA on Thursday 2011-07-05 19:21 A conference on economic opportunities and challenges arising from the Korea-EU FTA which came into effect on July 1 will take place in Seoul on Thursday. The conference, taking place at the Koreana Hotel from 2 p.m., will also examine the current economic crisis in Europe and economic development in Korea. The event is being jointly hosted by the Center for Free Enterprise, a Seoul-based free market think-tank, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty, a German foundation for the promotion of individual freedom which has offices around the world including in Seoul. “We picked the date hoping National Assembly members wouldn’t find a way to delay the agreement going into effect. So this is really timely because we are holding this less than a week after the agreement went into effect,” said Casey Lartigue Jr., manager of international relations at the CFE. Speakers at the conference titled “Economic Freedom