East Asia Econ

East Asia Today

Korea's Q2 household debt release is important, given it is such an important issue for BOK thinking about monetary policy in the short-term, and the economy in the longer-term. The structural issues facing Korea are nicely analysed in a BOK report looking at the similarities with Japan.

Paul Cavey

Aug 19, 2025 • 2 min read

Subscribers Only

Korea – also struggling with the lessons of Japan

I've done lots of work comparing China and Japan. Now, the BOK has done the same for Korea. There are clear similarities: demographics, debt, export-led development. It doesn't have deflation, but the scale of reforms the BOK recommends shows a Japanese-style slowdown is a real risk.

Public Post

Region – understanding the data issues

I've spent a lot of time in recent years building an infrastructure to analyse the economies of East Asia. Doing so has given me a good understanding of the data challenges in the region. In this video, I discuss those, and introduce the platform I've built to present all the data I've collected.

Subscribers Only

East Asia Today

No major releases today, but a few bits and pieces from China: the falls in interest rates and shifts in loan structure shown in the PBC's Friday monetary policy report; the re-acceleration in auto exports in today's detailed trade data; and signs of capital inflows in Friday's settlement data.