For much of the past half-century, Japan's economic success has stimulated the interest of scholars from around the world. In the last decade, and particularly in the last two years, however, it is Japan's economic difficulties which have attracted the most attention. The very institutions whose efficacy was earlier praised are now often criticised as being the core of Japan's economic problems.
This volume brings together the research of many of the world's leading specialists on the Japanese economy to assess how Japan's distinctive economic institutions have operated in the past and how their evolution in the face of changing domestic and international circumstance s will shape the prospects for the Japanese economy in the 21st century. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of Japan's financial system and the changing character of Japanese firm governance, and to the changing role that government and the legal system play in Japan's economy. The authors find among many other important conclusions that far-reaching regulatory reform will be needed so that a new rules-based system allowing greater scope for dispersed private initiative can emerge to restructure and regrow the Japanese economy.
Masahiko Aoki and Gary R. Saxonhouse: Introduction Yoshio Suzuki: Chapter 1: Strategies for Overcoming Japan's Financial Crisis Part I: Corporate Governance and the Evolution of Japan's Financial System Masahiko Aoki and Serdar Dinc: Chapter 2: Relational Financing as an Institution and its Viability under Competition Juro Teranishi: Chapter 3: The Fall of the Taisho Economic System Brian Hall and David Weinstein: Chapter 4: Main Banks, Creditor Concentration, and the Resolution of Financial Distress in Japan Fumio Hayashi: Chapter 5: The Main Bank System and Corporate Investment: an Empirical Assessment Takeo Hoshi: Comment on Hayashi Yusushi Hamao and Takeo Hoshi: Chapter 6: Bank-owned Security Subsidies in Japan: Evidence after the 1992 Financial System Reform Franklin Packer: Chapter 7: Credit Ratings and Spreads in the Samurai Bond Market Jennifer Corbett: Chapter 8: Japan's Banking Crisis in International Perspective Part II: Government, the Legal System, and the Structure and Operation of Japanese Economy Koichi Hamada: Chapter 9: Explaining the Low Litigation Rate in Japan J. Mark Ramseyer: Comment on Hamada J. Mark Ramseyer: Chapter 10: Rethinking Administrative Guidance Gary R. Saxonhouse: Chapter 11: R & D Consortia, News, and Japanese High Technology PolicyDSOptoelectronics in Japan Richard Nelson: Chapter 12: The Sources of Industrial Leadership Part III: Finale Hugh Patrick: Chapter 13: The Development of Studies of the Japanese Economy in the United States
Reviews for Finance, Governance, and Competitiveness in Japan
topical ... brings together contributions from leading authorities in the field of Japanese studies ... each chapter in the book is a commendable piece of research in itself and can be read as a standalone chapter. The attraction of the book lies in its assessment of Japan from different academic perspectives. It may appeal to business historians with an interest in the Japanese economy, particularly in the failings of financial institutions in recent years ... an interesting and useful source of reference on quite a broad range of topics relating to Japan. * Michael J.Lynskey, Business History, Vol.43, No.2, April 2001 *