The Economic Development of Modern Japan, 1945-1995.

(From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI))

Byline: Prabhu Guptara

The Economic Development of Modern Japan, 1945-1995, Edited by Steven Tolliday, 2 volume set, 2001, 1,361 pages, hardback, Ai315, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, U.K. and Northampton, MA, U.S.A.

Steven Tolliday has produced an excellent sequel to his earlier work with a similar title, but covering the years 1868-1945 (reviewed in the November / December 2001 issue of the Journal of Japanese Trade and Industry). The present work consists of 46 of the most significant articles or chapters on the subject dating from 1983 to 1997, deliberately excluding work that is already widely-available, but including less well-known work first published in Japan. Volume One considers key trends in Japanese economic development, the debate on the role and significance of industrial policy, and key issues in the history of Japanese business (notably keiretsu and corporate groups, small business and subcontracting, and the development of Japanese management). Volume Two includes case studies of industrial strategy and performance (e.g. in shipbuilding, the auto sector, iron and steel, retailing, and Japanese foreign direct investment in Europe), as well as wider essays on the evolution of Japanese financial and banking systems, the changing patterns of labor relations, land reform, agricultural change, and economic and social structures as a whole - e.g. the development of education and human capital, and patterns of gender inequality in society and in the labor market. Together, these essays illuminate the historical development of Japan's economy, society and institutions. The key questions raised by the work are: [euro] Was the Japanese economy really as much of a miracle as it was made out to be? - (The answer suggested is: less so than we used to think). [euro] Was Japan's famously "high" rate of savings really that high? - (It may have been somewhat exaggerated, but it remains one of the highest in the developed world). And did savings really play a key role in Japan's rapid growth and corporate success? - (Their contribution may have been a little overstated).

[euro] Is Japan as wealthy as it seems on paper? - (Yes, but, there is a more substantial gap between the levels of national wealth in Japan versus that in the United States than is apparent at first glance from the figures).

[euro] Did industrial policy make any difference? - (Yes, but not as much as some thought, in view of the informal and intensely interactive nature of government-industry links rather than control from the top: bureaucratic and political elites have "orchestrated" change rather than "directed" it).

[euro] Is the ...