The Pathway from Financial Liberalization and Crisis: A Comparative Case Study of Mexico and South Korea.

This paper investigates the linkage between financial liberalization and financial crisis in Mexico and South Korea from a comparative international political economy perspective. Both countries shared various features in the pattern and process of financial liberalization and on the road to financial crisis. Before their financial crises, these two countries experienced international financial capital surges following liberalization in domestic financial markets and their opening to foreign investors, as well as capital account liberalization. These countries also shared similar circumstances: each had presidential elections and entered into the OECD near the years of financial crisis, and both had their policy autonomy strongly affected by foreign pressure favoring financial liberalization. This paper answers explains the political economic background that proceeded financial market opening, and how it encouraged the macroeconomic imbalances and financial crisis in both countries, while providing a research framework to analyze recurrent financial crises in other successful emerging market economies. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]