Planning for Change: Industrial Policy and Japanese Economic Development 1945-1990 - Hardcover

Vestal, James; Vestal, James E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198288085 ISBN 13: 9780198288084

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 1994

Synopsis

What has been the role of goverment industrial policy, through agencies such as MITI, in Japan's extraordinary post-war development? How has the role changed in successive phases of growth? What `lessons' can be learned from this experience by other nations, be they in the West, or developing countries or economies in transition attempting to introduce competitive market structures? These are some of the main questions addressed in this absorbing and thorough study.

Dividing the period into three main phases, the author shows that policy played a crucial role in the initial period of post-war recovery. It did so not by `picking winners' but by creating a stable base from which development could occur by spreading the cost of introducing market competition over time.

In the succeeding high growth period and more recently Japan's industrial policy attempts only to promote the development of new technology and smooth the decline of sectors that are no longer globally competitive. That Japan itself no longer practises industrial policy on a wide scale is an irony little appreciated by those advocating the adoption of a `Japan style' industrial policy elsewhere.

About this title

Review:

`The documentation is good ... The case study of industrial policy applied to the steel industry is enlightening ... Recommended to upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers, and policy makers throughout the world.'Choice

`the analysis is always interesting and does develop insights into post-war economic policy ... Overall, an informative and interesting book that reveals the author's deep knowledge of the Japanese post-war experience. While essential for those interested in Japan, it deserves a wider audience with those seeking to apply these lessons to other countries'The Business Economist

`extensively researched book ... Japan's industrial policy has been debated with too much passion and too little data, and this book is a conscientious effort to rectify the situation'Far Eastern Economic Review

`the recognition of the dynamic nature of economic development and the analysis of post-war Japanese policy in the light of new trade theory should appeal to all business historians and those concerned with post-war industrial policy 'Business History

`Japan's industrial policy has been debated with too much passion and too little data, and this book is a conscientious effort to rectify the situation.'Far Eastern Economic Review

The recognition of the dynamic nature of economic development and the analysis of post-war Japanese policy in the light of new trade theory should appeal to all business historians and those concerned with post-war industrial policy. (Business History)

This book is must reading for everyone interested in industrial policy. Japan is almost always used as the example of successful industrial planning. Everyone using the Japanese model seems to have a different understanding of the Japanese experience. In this well-documented book the author does an excellent job of putting the Japanese experience in perspective. (Manufacturing Competitiveness Frontier)

From the Back Cover:

What has been the role of government industrial policy in Japan's extraordinary post-war development? How has the role changed in successive phases of growth? What "lessons" can be learnt from this experience by other nations, be they in the West, or developing countries or economies in transition attempting to introduce competitive market structures? These are some of the main questions addressed in this absorbing and thorough study. Dividing the period into three main phases, the author shows that policy played a crucial role in the initial period of post-war recovery. It did so not by "picking winners" but by creating a stable base from which development could occur by spreading the cost of introducing market competition over time. In the succeeding high growth period, and more recently, Japan's industrial policy attempts only to promote the development of new technology, and smooth the decline of sectors that are no longer globally competitive. That Japan itself no longer practices industrial policy on a wide scale is an irony little appreciated by those advocating the adoption of a "Japan-style" industrial policy elsewhere.

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0198288085
• ISBN 13: 9780198288084
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 260