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How is the path produced and sustained? Path-dependent college education expansion and underlying liberal rule in Korea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2024

Eunjeong Jang Open the ORCID record for Eunjeong Jang [Opens in a new window]
Eunjeong Jang*
Affiliation:
Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Reading, Reading, UK
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Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The conventional policy analyses with a path-dependent framework are featured by sequential causation composed of analytically two distinct phases: path production that occurs through a significant policy change at critical junctures and the subsequent path reproduction. This paper explores one policy area where the two-phase framework falls short in explaining path-making and maintenance – college education expansion in Korea. We argue that the shortcomings of the two-phase model can potentially be overcome by incorporating the underlying rule of the countries into the model. We identify the underlying rule relying on Esping-Andersen’s welfare regimes to highlight the political underpinnings of the countries. We show that the underlying liberal rule is a fundamental causal force behind the production and reproduction of college education expansion in Korea, using qualitative comparative analysis. Our framework based on the underlying rule provides a richer understanding of path dependency.

Keywords

path dependencypath productionpath reproductionqualitative comparative analysiswelfare state regimes
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 44 , Issue 2 , June 2024 , pp. 436 - 457
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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