{
  "title": "Nurture, Then Prosper",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/cafe-economics-nurture-then-prosper-ha-joon-chang-bruce-edwards",
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  "summary": "Ha-Joon Chang learned a few things about infant industry protection by living through South Korea’s “economic miracle”",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Background and personal history",
      "content": "- Ha-Joon Chang born in 1963 in South Korea, which at the time had a life expectancy of 53.\n- Grew up during Korea’s rapid industrialization under five-year plans, nationalization of the banking system, and military dictatorship—experiencing both double-digit growth rates and political repression.\n- Education and career:\n  - Earned a PhD at the University of Cambridge.\n  - Taught for 30-plus years at Cambridge before moving to SOAS University of London in 2022.\n  - Author of 17 books translated into 46 languages and sold over 3 million copies globally.\n  - Latest title: Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World.\n- Motivations: pursued economics to reconcile simultaneous positive and negative societal changes witnessed during Korea’s transformation."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Views on infant industry protection and tariffs",
      "content": "- Core position: developing countries need an initial period of protectionism to nurture infant industries.\n- Historical grounding:\n  - Cites Alexander Hamilton’s 1791 report to Congress on manufactures as origin of the idea—advocates for tariffs, subsidies, infrastructure investment, banking development, government bond markets, and patent systems.\n  - Notes that the US was heavily protected for nearly a century; South Korea and other East Asian economies used heavy tariff protection successfully.\n- Key caveats:\n  - Tariffs and protection can be misused; success depends on disciplined recipients of state support.\n  - Protection should be a time-limited nurturing phase to allow industries to invest and raise productivity."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Industrial policy today",
      "content": "- Industrial policy was common historically; became taboo mainly between 1980 and 2020.\n- Recent developments:\n  - The 2019 IMF working paper “The Return of the Policy That Shall Not Be Named” signaled renewed attention to industrial policy.\n  - Renewed industrial policy in advanced economies—especially the US—responds to deindustrialization and competition from China.\n- Assessment:\n  - Industrial policy is back in fashion, but many new programs (especially in the US) are at risk of being poorly designed; described as a “geriatric version of infant industry protection.”\n  - Points to continued covert government roles in technology development (example: technologies in the iPhone originating from US government–funded research; semiconductor funded by the US Navy; computer and internet developed by the Pentagon)."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Trade, capitalism, and economic development",
      "content": "- Stance on trade:\n  - No economic development without trade, but criticizes the free-trade absolutist position; advocates “managed trade.”\n  - Developing economies need protection for new industries and subsidies for export capabilities to earn foreign exchange for importing advanced machines and technologies.\n- Views on capitalism:\n  - Different varieties of capitalism exist; institutional choices reflect values and politics.\n  - Example: top US income tax rate was 91 percent between the late 1940s and mid-1960s—illustrating alternatives in economic management.\n  - Argues capitalism is flawed but preferable to alternatives; can be made more efficient, humane, and sustainable."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Sustainability and policy implications",
      "content": "- Broad definition of sustainability: environmental, economic, political, and social dimensions.\n- Policy priorities:\n  - Avoid exploitative labor practices, precarious jobs, and rapidly rising inequality to ensure political sustainability of growth.\n  - Foster mass economic literacy so citizens can meaningfully participate in democratic choice over economic policy.\n  - Combine protective measures for nascent industries with disciplined state support, export promotion, and investments in institutions (banking, infrastructure, patents)."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key statistics and factual highlights (preserved as in source)",
      "content": "- Birth year: 1963\n- Life expectancy at birth (South Korea, early 1960s): 53\n- Academic tenure: taught for 30-plus years at Cambridge\n- Move to SOAS University of London: 2022\n- Books authored: 17\n- Languages translated into: 46\n- Copies sold globally: over 3 million\n- Hamilton’s report year: 1791\n- Period when industrial policy became taboo: between 1980 and 2020\n- IMF working paper year: 2019 (“The Return of the Policy That Shall Not Be Named”)\n- Top US income tax rate between the late 1940s and mid-1960s: 91 percent\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- Nurture, Then Prosper\n  - Nurture, Then Prosper (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Nurture, Then Prosper (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/cafe-economics-nurture-then-prosper-ha-joon-chang-bruce-edwards"
    }
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    "Authors: BRUCE EDWARDS",
    "Published: September 1, 2026",
    "Ha-Joon Chang born in 1963 in South Korea, which at the time had a life expectancy of 53.",
    "Grew up during Korea’s rapid industrialization under five-year plans, nationalization of the banking system, and military dictatorship—experiencing both double-digit growth rates and political repression.",
    "Education and career:",
    "Motivations: pursued economics to reconcile simultaneous positive and negative societal changes witnessed during Korea’s transformation.",
    "Core position: developing countries need an initial period of protectionism to nurture infant industries.",
    "Historical grounding:",
    "Key caveats:",
    "Industrial policy was common historically; became taboo mainly between 1980 and 2020.",
    "Recent developments:",
    "Assessment:",
    "Stance on trade:",
    "Views on capitalism:",
    "Broad definition of sustainability: environmental, economic, political, and social dimensions.",
    "Policy priorities:",
    "Birth year: 1963",
    "Life expectancy at birth (South Korea, early 1960s): 53",
    "Academic tenure: taught for 30-plus years at Cambridge",
    "Move to SOAS University of London: 2022",
    "Books authored: 17",
    "Languages translated into: 46",
    "Copies sold globally: over 3 million",
    "Hamilton’s report year: 1791",
    "Period when industrial policy became taboo: between 1980 and 2020",
    "IMF working paper year: 2019 (“The Return of the Policy That Shall Not Be Named”)",
    "Top US income tax rate between the late 1940s and mid-1960s: 91 percent",
    "**Nurture, Then Prosper**"
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