Economics (South Korea) + Admin & Laws in India, China & South Korea - Essay Example

This volatile growth rate is mainly due the economic recession of 2008 which affected the economy of the country significantly. The inflation rate for the country has remained pretty much stable as compared to the GDP rate. Inflation rate was 3 percent in 2010 and increased to 4 percent in 2011. The inflation rate, however, went down to 2.2 percent in 2012 (Euromonitor, 2013). This decrease in inflation rate is due to the slowing exports of the country which is also affecting the overall growth of the economy (Kim, 2012).

The unemployment rate of South Korea has been close to 3 percent in the few years. Unemployment in 2011 was 3.3 percent which lowered to 3.2 percent in 2012. In 2013 unemployment rate has been reported as 3 percent (Prasad, 2013). The government has recently announced an increase in minimum wage for all employees in the country. The minimum wage in South Korea now equals to about $958 monthly for 8 hours daily (GMA News, 2013). The amount in the local currency amounts to 1,015,740 won (GMA News, 2013).

South Korea has a very strong export base and, therefore, the country usually almost always enjoys a trade surplus. An exception to this was in 2012 when the country reported a trade deficit. In 2013 the country announced trade surplus of just over $2 billion which shows the strength of country’s exports (Trading Economics Website, 2013). The poverty rate of South Korea is about 7 percent (Ji-Sook, 2012). A family of four people having a family income of less than $1217 a month is considered poor by the government (2012).

The poverty rate for elderly people is higher in the country compared to the overall poverty rate of South Korea. Public debt of South Korea is lower compared to other developed countries. The public debt of the country is around 34. 7% of the country’s GDP (Ernst & Young, 2012). This was even lower before the economic recession of 2008. Low public debt is a good sign for the country. The interest rate of