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Keun Lee

Keun Lee

Writing for PS since 2021
21 commentaries

Keun Lee, a former vice chair of the National Economic Advisory Council for the President of South Korea, is Distinguished Professor of Economics at Seoul National University, a fellow at CIFAR, an editor at Research Policy, and the author, most recently, of Innovation-Development Detours for Latecomers: Managing Global-Local Interfaces in the De-Globalization Era (Cambridge University Press, 2024).

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  1. Has Escaping the Middle-Income Trap Become Easier?
    klee23_Per-Anders Pettersson Getty Images_worldbank Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images

    Has Escaping the Middle-Income Trap Become Easier?

    Dec 27, 2024 Keun Lee urges the World Bank to adopt a more reliable measure of economic development than nominal per capita GDP.

  2. The Chip War Turns Two
    klee22_VCGGettyImages__chinese_semiconductor_fab VCG/GettyImages

    The Chip War Turns Two

    Oct 31, 2024 Keun Lee assesses US efforts to achieve microchip self-sufficiency and impede China’s effort to do the same.

  3. India Needs More Big Businesses
    klee21_JUNG YEON-JEAFP via Getty Images_samsung Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images

    India Needs More Big Businesses

    Aug 30, 2024 Keun Lee considers what it would take for the country to become an economic superpower on par with China.

  4. How South Korea Broke the Development Mold
    klee20_Bernd von Jutrczenkapicture alliance via Getty Images_southkoreatrade Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture alliance via Getty Images

    How South Korea Broke the Development Mold

    Jun 28, 2024 Keun Lee attributes the country's economic success to the government's willingness to stray from prescribed orthodoxy.

  5. What Fiscally Sound Industrial Policy Can Do
    klee19_Gerhard JorenLightRocket via Getty Images_hyundaimanufacturing Gerhard Joren/LightRocket via Getty Images

    What Fiscally Sound Industrial Policy Can Do

    May 2, 2024 Keun Lee highlights three tools that can support domestic-market growth and development without breaking the bank.

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  1. norrlof9_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trump Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Tariff Man’s Risky Bet

    Carla Norrlöf

    In betting that the economic fallout from his sweeping new tariffs will be worth the gains in border security, US President Donald Trump is gambling with America’s long-term influence and prosperity. In the future, more countries will have even stronger reasons to try to reduce their reliance on the United States.

    thinks Donald Trump's trade policies will undermine the very goals they aim to achieve.
  2. parke2_Odd AndersenGettyImages_nihon_hidankyo_nobel Odd Andersen/Getty Images

    The Case for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons

    Melissa Parke calls for eliminating arsenals to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
  3. acemoglu83_Anna BarclayGetty Images_deepseek Anna Barclay/Getty Images

    A Sputnik Moment for AI?

    Daron Acemoglu

    While America’s AI industry arguably needed shaking up, the news of a Chinese startup beating Big Tech at its own game raises some difficult questions. Fortunately, if US tech leaders and policymakers can take the right lessons from DeepSeek's success, we could all end up better for it.

    considers what an apparent Chinese breakthrough means for the US tech industry, and innovation more broadly.
  4. ronde1_PhotosbypatrikGettyImages_apps Photosbypatrik/Getty Images

    Danish Media’s United Stand Against Big Tech

    Karen Rønde urges all publishers to bargain collectively to secure the fair compensation quality journalism requires.
  5. ito44_ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDSAFP via Getty Images_IwayaRubio Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

    East Asia Braces for Trump 2.0

    Takatoshi Ito warns America’s key regional allies to be prepared to make concessions to the new US administration.
  6. franks1_Tafadzwa UfumeliGettyImages_zimbabwe_lithium_mine Tafadzwa Ufumeli/Getty Images

    Africa Needs Mineral Security, Too

    Daniel M. Franks & Rüya Perincek highlight the necessity of building local value chains tailored to the continent’s economic realities.
  7. elsayedali1_Picture AllianceGettyImages_data_center_wires Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Mitigating AI’s Climate Costs

    Sherif Elsayed-Ali proposes ways to realize the technology’s potential while mitigating its massive carbon footprint.
  8. naim2_CHANDAN KHANNAAFP via Getty Images_USvenezuela Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

    What Does Trump 2.0 Mean for Venezuela?

    Moisés Naím thinks the Maduro regime’s fate – and the country’s future – will be largely shaped by US policymakers.
  9. nye266_Apu GomesGetty Images_LAfires Apu Gomes/Getty Images

    Does Globalization Have a Future?

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr. worries that we will end up with only harmful long-distance dependencies, rather than beneficial ones.

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