| NOTA |
(★)(The Japanese economy is often considered unique. It is said, for example, that workers are ´loyal´, and that business decisions are influenced by banks and the government to a much greater extent than in other countries. Japanese companies are said to form corporate groups, within which a large portion of business transactions take place, contributing to the perception that Japan´s markets are closed. But is this typical characterization true? If so, how are we to understand the similarities and differences between the Japanese economy and the other major industrial economies? Are the differences, if any, to remain permanent features of the Japanese economy? ／In this book, Mr. Tsuru uses his experience as a government economist to examine the characteristics of the Japanese market economy system, with a particular focus on the firm. In his discussion of what he calls subsystems, he shows that long-term orientation is the key element of the firm´s relationship with its stake holders, business partners and the government in Japan. The long-term orientation of the economy --supported by such institutional features as stable shareholding, the system of main banks, a seniority-based wage structure and career-- bureaucracy, helps promote the sharing of information and contributes to steady process innovation. ／But international comparison shows that many of the institutional features of the Japanese economy are also found in other countries, implying that they have a rational economic basis. Similarities exist, for example, between the U.S. and Japanese systems both past and present. Mr. Tsuru argues that the institutional features of a particular economy can be explained as a rational response to the particular conditions and circumstances it faced in the past. ／Against the advantages of the Japanese system, there are also disadvantages. While it may facilitate process innovation by promoting firm-specific knowledge, it does not encourage product innovation. The keiretsu system and close government-business ties seem to lack transparency to outsiders, creating conflict and friction. With changes in the external environment, the Japanese economy is bound to change, although the links between different subsystems are likely to slow the process. Unless there is a shock large enough to disturb all subsystems at once, the whole system may not change at all. Mr. Tsuru argues that the long and severe economic slump and globalization might well give that impetus, and he predicts that, in the future, the Japanese, U.S. and European market economy systems may increasingly become a hybrid system in which the advantages of each are partially incorporated. ◆Tsuru Kotaro was born in 1960. He received his B.Sc. from Tokyo University and a master´s degree in economics from Oxford University, which he was awarded for his thesis ´Pricing to Market : A Japan and U.S. Comparison.´ Before assuming his current duties as an administrator in Country Studies Division I in the Economics Department of the OECD, he served as deputy director of the Policy Division at the Economic Planning Agency (EPA) and deputy director of the First Domestic Research Division in the EPA´s Research Division. He has also served in the International Affairs Division of the Prime Minister´s Office. Mr. Tsuru was a member of the drafting committee for ´Keizai Hakusho (White Paper on the Japanese Economy)´ from 1992 to 1994.) |
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