Economic Development, Import Structure and Technological Change: An Application of 1975-80-85 Korean Link Input-Output Table

In this paper we analyze the change of Korean trade structure with application of the 1975-80-85 link Input-Output table. According to the economic development, the trade structure also changes drastically. Our main topics are following. First, has Korea’s trade structural change been the import-augmentative one? Second, if the import-substitution process can be observed, is it grounded on the technological progress that makes the Korean domestic products more internationally competitive?Our quantitative investigation shows that the import-substitution process has steadily deepened from light industries to heavy industries. Moreover, most of the sectors accomplished the cost reducing technological change. The volume of intermediate input imports, however, increased especially during the 1980-85 period.This study suggests that the increasing import of the intermediate input can contribute to the cost reducing technological progress that pushes the Korean manufactured goods aggressively into the international market