Making Megacities in Asia: Comparing National Economic Development Trajectories

139 Pages·2020·2.443 MB·English

by  Du Huynh

SPRINGER BRIEFS IN REGIONAL SCIENCE
Du Huynh
Making
Megacities in Asia
Comparing
National Economic
Development
Trajectories
123
SpringerBriefs in Regional Science
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Mark Partridge, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA
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Du Huynh
Making Megacities in Asia
Comparing National Economic Development
Trajectories
123
DuHuynh
Fulbright University Vietnam
HoChiMinh, Vietnam
ISSN 2192-0427 ISSN 2192-0435 (electronic)
SpringerBriefs inRegional Science
ISBN978-981-15-0659-8 ISBN978-981-15-0660-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0660-4
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To Tony and Binh
Acknowledgements
I could not have attained this level of graduate education and produced the first
bookwithoutthehelpandsupportofmanypeople.IamparticularlygratefultoJosé
Gómez-Ibáñezwhohasnotonlybeenmyprimaryadvisor,butalsomyencouraging
mentor for years. He has helped me in every aspect since Spring 2008 when he
cametoVietnam.Wheneverwemeet,Icomeawayhavinggainednewsubstanceto
sharpen my reasoning. He has taught me how central the functioning of the
transportation system is to the functioning of economies, an elegant and essential
piece of knowledge forming the basis of my work with him. Moreover, the first
draft of this book was written during my time at the Taubman Center, Harvard
Kennedy School of Government, in 2016–2017 under his mentorship. He read
many drafts and gave me a lot of valuable comments. Alan Altshuler has been
anothermentorfromwhomIhavelearnedagreatdeal,includinghowtoembarkon
theunknowntomakediscoveries.Understandinglocalpoliticsisanimportantissue
that from him I have realized the significance, especially the public entrepreneur-
shiptheory.DavidDapice wasthe firstforeigner Istudied withandwho mentored
me for nearly two decades. He inspired me to pursue an academic career not only
by his insightful knowledge, but also by his tireless research and benevolent rec-
ommendations for Vietnam with pure integrity gained during 30-year experience.
He read many drafts of this book and gave me valuable comments.
I am fortunate to also have Richard Peiser and Annette Kim as advisors for my
doctorate degree. I owe Richard Peiser knowledge on real estates and locations.
I also received valuable comments from him and other people when presenting
draftsofthisbookduringatripwithhimfromHoChiMinhCitytoHanoi,Manila,
andJakartainApril2018.Ilearnedapproachestoanalyzeurbanissuesoftransition
economiesfromAnnetteKim.JayRosengardhelpedmegainknowledgeofpublic
finance more deeply throughdoingreal research and teaching with him, especially
regarding the study on public finance in HCMC, Shanghai, and Jakarta. I owe
knowledgefrom EricS.Belsky, PaulCote,AkashDeep,SusanFainstein, Michael
Hooper, Nguyen Minh Kieu, Peter Rowe, Chau Van Thanh, Dang Van Thanh,
William Wheaton, and many others.
vii
viii Acknowledgements
As both a student and a faculty member, I am indebted to my teachers and
colleagues at Fulbright. Thomas Valley helped me realize my dream to study at
Harvard. Dwight Perkins has always given me helpful advice. I am particularly
graceful to Nguyen Xuan Thanh and Vu Thanh Tu Anh. These two faculty
members,alsoofmygeneration,havealwayshelpedmeunconditionallyintherole
ofclosefriends,colleagues,andteachers.JonathanPincusandBenWilkinsonalso
helped me a lot. All my teachers and colleagues at Fulbright are indeed wonderful
and have always supported me impartially.
On administrative and logistic issues, I have received enormous support from
many people: Vo Thanh Binh, Barbara Elfman, Truong Minh Hoa, Linda
Miklosko-Davis,NguyenHoangMinhNgoc,TranThanhPhong,TranThanhThai,
Hoang Van Thang, Tran Ngoc Tran, Do Thi Thanh Trieu, Ms. Danh, Ms. Luyen,
Mr.Minh,Mr.Cao,Mr.Phuong,Mr.Tuan,Mr.Tung,friendsattheAssociationof
Vietnamese Students and Professionals in the USA, and many others.
Family is always the deepest part of anyone’s heart. Our parents have rarely
taughtusdirectlybutnotbecausetheyweretoobusyworkingtosupporttheirseven
children in the most difficult period in contemporary Vietnam; real action is much
more valuable than lecturing. Freedom of thought is the most precious value that
ourparentsinstilledinusaschildren.Icannotrecallanythingthatmyparentshave
forced me to do in choosing my course of study and career path. My siblings and
relatives are fantastic supporters. They always share everything with me. My
youngest brother has helped me so much in finding data and other related issues.
Finally,yetcertainlyneverleast,Iamheavilyindebtedtomyownsmallfamily,
my wife, Bui Thi Thuy Binh and my daughters Huynh Binh Minh, Huynh Cally
andHuynhLinafortheirlovingpatiencewhenleftalonesomany daysandnights
while I needed to focus on my research and writing. Their sacrifice for our family
can never be fully made up but is forever in my heart.
About This Book
ThisbookanalyzesandcomparesthedevelopmentpathsoffivemajorcitiesinEast
and Southeast Asia since the early 1960s, including Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta,
Manila, Seoul, and Shanghai. In examining these five cases through a carefully
crafted conceptual framework, the author excavates an understanding of the
dynamics that have enabled Seoul and Shanghai to become highly competitive as
major engines of economic growth, while simultaneously accounting for why the
other three cities have faced numerous problems in terms of meeting their devel-
opment goals. Presenting both quantitative and qualitative data to trace the course
of changes between 1960 and 2015, the case studies curate six possible explana-
tions for the different cities’ developmental trajectories. The book considers the
nationaldevelopmentstrategymatterstothedevelopmentofcitiesandpositionsthe
share of budget revenue retained for cities’ expenditure as critical. The author
demonstrates that consistently pursuing long-term strategies is important, and that
public entrepreneurship with powerful supporting coalitions is vital. The book
illustrateshow masterplans haveplayed limitedroles inthebuilding of cities, and
that fragmented governments are often at the root of the problems facing a city’s
development. This book will be highly relevant to researchers in international and
Asian urban development.
ix
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Divergent Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Possible Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Research Objectives and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 Seoul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1 A Snapshot of Seoul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2 The Development of Seoul Since 1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.2.1 Building New Seoul with Mayor Kim Hyun-ok. . . . . . . . . 15
2.2.2 Chasing the Olympics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.3 Seoul’s Darkest Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.4 Revitalizing Seoul with Mayor Lee Myung-bak. . . . . . . . . 18
2.2.5 The Emergence of Civil Society in the Last Decade . . . . . 19
2.3 Changes in Seoul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.3.1 Demographic and Employment Shift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.3.2 Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3.3 Urban Infrastructure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4 Factors Determining the Development of Seoul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4.1 The National Development Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4.2 Fiscal Decentralization and the City’s Budget Share . . . . . 23
2.4.3 Government Structure and Governance in Seoul . . . . . . . . 24
2.4.4 Urban Planning and Its Roles in Seoul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.4.5 The Vision and Determination of the Municipal
Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.4.6 Public Entrepreneurship and Public Choice in Seoul . . . . . 26
2.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
xi