. . . the book reviewed here will trigger a further interest in this area of research, and will invite more researchers to seek empirical evidence in the study of post-war industrial growth in Japan. Hiroshi Ohashi, Journal of the Japanese and International Economies This book provides a theoretically informed and empirically illustrative account of modern Japanese industrialization. Ozawa s translation of classical political economy to the Japanese context is both original and accessible and is a welcome addition to the literature on the Japanese variety of capitalism. Tim Reiffenstein, Pacific Affairs Ozawa succeeds in extending, building up, and joining the Akamatsu Kojima lineage of this unique Japan-born theory of economic development from a fresh, unconventional, and discerning perspective. From the foreword by Kiyoshi Kojima Terutomo Ozawa examines Japan s once celebrated post-war economic success from a new perspective. He applies a flying geese model of industrial upgrading in a country that is still catching-up, to explore the rise, fall and rebound of Japanese industry with its evolving institutions and policies. The book brings together and expands upon theories developed in the author's work over many years, using them as building blocks for his flying geese model. Concepts explored include: economics of hierarchical concatenation, increasing factor incongruity, comparative advantage (or market) recycling the Ricardo Hicksian trap of industrial production, Smithian growth elan, triumvirate pro-trade structural transformation knowledge creation versus knowledge diversion, the price-knowledge/industry-flow mechanism a la David Hume the syndrome of institutional incongruity, and socially justifiable moral hazard versus degenerative moral hazard. The dynamic process of industrial upgrading is analysed in detail, and important lessons for both developing and transition economies are highlighted. This fascinating book will attract a wide-ranging readership, encompassing practitioners and academics interested in international business, economic development, trade, and political science. In addition, sociologists focussing on business and industry, and researchers on, and policymakers in, developing and transition economies will also find this book of immense interest.

This text provides an analysis of the development experience of the five most advanced countries in East Asia: Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. It reviews of the role of the state in industrial development in each of the countries, in general, as well as in selected industries.

The aim of this book is to evaluate accurately economic development mechanism and to extract valuable lessons from a comparison of the economic development of Japan and that of Germany. The book covers an extensive range of economic issues: (1) macro-economic factors: capital, labor, technology; (2) macro-economic policies: financial, monetary, industrial; (3) external shocks to both economies: oil crises, exchange rate fluctuations, environmental problems; (4) development processes of major industries: steel, chemicals, and automobiles. The analyses with this systematic and comprehensive approach provide useful insights for the general reader as well as guidelines for developing countries and for Eastern European countries in transition.

The recognised success of the post-war Japanese economy has rested on the qualities of its manufacturing industries. This book explores the origins, rationale, and consequences of this transformation. Using theoretical insights and detailed evidence, it reviews the rise of the Japanese economy and the nature, causes, and changing objectives of vertical and horizontal integration; ownership, control, financing and bank-industry relations; and the major operational functions of production, human resources, distribution and marketing.

This book studies the industrial development of Japan since the mid-nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on how the various industries built technological capabilities. The Japanese were extraordinarily creative in searching out and learning to use modern technologies, and the authors investigate the emergence of entrepreneurs who began new and risky businesses, how the business organizations evolved to cope with changing technological conditions, and how the managers, engineers, and workers acquired organizational and technological skills through technology importation, learning-by-doing, and their own R & D activities. The book investigates the interaction between private entrepreneurial activities and public policy, through a general examination of economic and industrial development, a study of the evolution of management systems, and six industrial case studies: textile, iron and steel, electrical and communications equipment, automobiles, shipbuilding and aircraft, and pharmaceuticals. The authors show how the Japanese government has played an important supportive role in the continuing innovation, without being a substitute for aggressive business enterprise constantly venturing into unfamiliar terrains.

Over the postwar period, the scope of industrial policy has expanded markedly. Governments in virtually all advanced industrial countries have extended the visible hand of the state in assisting specific industries or individual companies. Although greater government involvement in some countries has lessened the dislocations brought about by slower growth rates, industrial policy has also caused or exacerbated a number of other problems, including distortions in the allocation of capital and labor and trade conflicts that undermine the postwar system of free trade. Only Japan is widely cited as an unambiguous success story. The effectiveness of its industrial policy is revealed in the successful emergence of one government-targeted industry after another as world-class competitors: for example, steel, automobiles, and semiconductors. Foreign countries fear that a number of still-developing industries—like biotechnology, telecommunications, and information processing—will follow the same pattern. But is industrial policy the main reason for Japan's economic achievements? The author asserts that the reasons for Japan's spectacular track record go well beyond the realm of industrial policy into broad areas of the political economy as a whole. In this book, the author attempts to identify the reasons for the comparative effectiveness of Japanese industrial policy for high technology by answering the following questions: What is the attitude of Japanese leaders toward state intervention in the marketplace? What is the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) doing to promote the development of high technology? How has the organization of the private sector contributed to MITI's capacity to intervene effectively? What elements in Japan's political system help insulate industrial policymaking from the demands of interest-group politics?