South Korea and Taiwan’s institutional capacity helped U.S. aid to be used well after 1945, while South Vietnam’s French colonial legacy hindered development.
Many theories have been put forward to explain the economic successes of South Korea and Taiwan in the latter half of the 20th century. In new research, Kevin Gray attributes much of this success to U.S. aid, which, he argues, did not take place on a blank slate. Rather, it built on the already considerable state capacity created by […]