Political economy of Japan?s decades long economic stagnation

Authors

  • Kalim Siddiqui University of Huddersfield

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/EQUIL.2015.033

Keywords:

Japan, political economy, stagnation, mounting debts and growth rates

Abstract

It is hard to imagine that after Japan?s miracle post-war growth it would go on to suffer more than two decades of stagnation. Although there have been some short-lived periods of recovery, such as in 1995-96, the average growth rate over the period of 1991-2014 was a mere 1%. Despite historically low interest rates and a series of fiscal stimuli, the growth has not revived. Despite the long economic stagnation, Japan still retains its strength in many areas. Its human and physical capital formations are among the highest in the world. The volume it spends on research and development is equally impressive. It still has world-leading firms and modern technologies. The methodology to be followed here is derived from the aims of the study and comparisons of international statistics provide the main means of addressing the research questions and the objectives of this paper. The study concludes that the neoliberal ?market-centred? policies have brought inequality, stagnation, and fiscal crisis to the state. Therefore, a radical critical political economy is required to analyse the situation more objectively, one which would mean increased levels of welfare and people-led measures.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Aoki, M. (1990). Towards an Economic Model of the Japanese Firm. Journal of Economic Literature, 28(1).
Argitis, G. & Pitelis, C. N. (2008). Global Financial and Systematic Instability. Contribution to Political Economy, 27(1). DOI: 10.1093/cpe/bzn008.
Berry, J. M. (2012). A Japanese Debt Crisis?. The International Economy, Spring.
Bhaduri, A. & Marglin, S. (1990). Unemployment and the Real Wages: the economic basis for contesting political ideologies. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 14(4).
Boltho, A. & Corbett, J. (2000). The Assessment: Japan?s Stagnation ? can policy revive the economy. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 16(2). DOI: 10.1093/oxrep/16.2.1.
Burkett, P. & Hart-Landsberg, M. (2000). Development, Crisis and Class Struggle: Learning from Japan and East Asia, Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Caballero, R. J, Takeo, H. & Kashyap, A. K. (2003). Zombie Lending and Depressed Restructuring in Japan. Working Paper, University of Chicago, USA.
Clarke, T. (2010). Recurring Crisis in Anglo-American Corporate Governance. Contribution to Political Economy. 29(1). DOI: 10.1093/cpe/bzq002.
Cowling, K. & Tomlinson, P. R. (2011). Post the ?Washington Consensus: economic governance and industrial strategies for 21st century. Cambridge Journal of Economics. 35(5). DOI: 10.1093/cje/ber003.
Dore, R.P. (1971). Land Reform and Japan?s Economic Development. in T. Shanin (ed.) Peasants and Peasant Societies. Harmondsworth: Penguin Press.
Forsberg, A. (2000). America and the Japanese Miracle: the Cold War Context of the Japan?s Post-War Economic Revival. London: Chapel Hill.
Giles, C. (2013). Little Recovery in Advanced Economies. Financial Times, 5th March, London.
Gilpin, R. (2000). The Challenges to Global Capitalism, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Harding, R. (2013). Currency Farce Reveals US-Japan Dispute. Financial Times, 13th February, London.
Harrison, F. (1983). The Power in the Land. London: Shepheard-Walwyn.
Hoshi, T. & Kashyap, A. K. (2004). Japan?s Financial Crisis and Economic Stagnation. Journal of Economic Perspective. 18(1). DOI: 10.1257/08953300 4773563412.
Itoh, M. (2000). The Japanese Economy Reconsidered. London: Palgrave.
Jayadev, A. (2007). Capital Account Openness and the Labour Share of Income. Cambridge Journal of Economics. 31(3). DOI: 10.1093/cje/bel037.
Johnson, C. (1998). Economic Crisis in East Asia: the clash of capitalisms. Cambridge Journal of Economics. 22(6). DOI: 10.1093/cje/22.6.653.
Johnson, C. (1982) MITI and the Japanese Miracle; The Growth of the Industrial Policy 1925-1975. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press.
Kawai, M. & Takagi, S. (2009), Why was Japan hit hard by the Global Financial Crisis? Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute. Retrieved form http://www.adbi.org/working-paper/2009/10/05/3343.japan.gfc/.
Krugman, P. (1999). Japan Heads for Edge. Financial Times. 20th January, London.
Krugman, P. (1994). The Myth of Asia?s Miracle. Foreign Affairs. 73.
Little, I. (1982). Economic Development: Theory Policy and International Relations. New York: Basic Books.
Maddison, A. (1995). Monitoring the World Economy, 1820-1992. Paris: OECD.
Mayer, C. (1999). Financial Instability. Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 15(3). DOI: 10.1093/oxrep/15.3.1.
METI (2012). Vision of Economic Society ? Maturity and Diversity, New Industrial Structure Committee of the Industrial Structure Council, Ministry of Economy. Trade and Industry: Tokyo.
METI (2010). Japan?s Manufacturing Industry. Ministry of Economy. Trade and Industry: Tokyo.
OECD (2013). Economic Survey ? Japan. Paris: OECD
Ogura, T. (1967). Agrarian Problems and Agricultural Policy in Japan: A Historical Sketch. Tokyo: Institute of Asian Economic Affairs.
Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the Twenty-first Century. Cambridge Mass.
Pilling, D. (2014). Bending Adversity: JAPAN and the Arts of Survival. London: Allen Lane.
Richardson, P., Visco, I., & Giorno, C. (2000). Predicting the Evolution and Effects of the East Asian Crisis from the OECD Perspective. Economic Department Working Paper. 236, Paris: OECD
Sachs, J. (2001). The Benefits of a Weaker Yen. Financial Times. 18th April, London.
Sako, M. (1996). Suppliers Associations in the Japanese Auto industry; Collective Action for Technology Diffusion. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 20(6).
Siddiqui, K. (2015). Trade Liberalisation and Economic Development: A Critical Review. International Journal of Political Economy. 44 (3). DOI: 10.1080/08911916.2015.1095050.
Siddiqui, K. (2014a). Flows of Foreign Capital into Developing Countries: A Critical Review. Journal of International Business and Economics, 2(1).
Siddiqui, K. (2014b). Higher Education in the Era of Globalisation. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(2).
Siddiqui, K. (2013). Experiences of Developmental State in India and Taiwan. Think India Quarterly, 16(4).
Siddiqui, K. (2012a). Malaysia?s Socio-Economic Transformation in Historical Perspective. International Journal of Business and General Management. 1(2).
Siddiqui, K. (2012b). Developing Countries Experience with Neoliberalism and Globalisation. Research in Applied Economics, 4(4). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5296/rae.v4i4.2878.
Siddiqui, K. (2010). The Political Economy of Development in Singapore. Research in Applied Economics, 2(2). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/rae.v2i2. 524.
Siddiqui, K. (2009a). Japan?s Economic Crisis. Research in Applied Economics, 1(1).
Siddiqui, K. (2009b). The Current Financial Crisis and its Impact on the Emerging Economies ? China and India. Research in Applied Economics, 1(2).
Siddiqui, K. (2009c). The Political Economy of Growth in China and India. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 1(2). DOI: 10.1080/17516230902734528.
Siddiqui, K. (1995). Role of the State in South-East Asia. The Nation. 27th May.
Stiglitz, J. (2012). The Price of Inequality: The Avoidable Causes of Invisible Costs of Inequality. New York: Norton
Stockhammer, E. (2013). Rising Inequality as a Cause of the Present Crisis. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 26. DOI: 10.1093/cje/bet052.
The Economist (2014). Japan?s Economy ? About that Debt. 18th November, London.
The Economist (2009). Japan ? The Incredible Shrinking Economy. 4th April, 73-74, London.
Tsuru, S. (1993). Japan?s Capitalism: creative defeat and beyond. London: Cambridge University Press.
Wade, R. (2009). The Global Slump, Deeper Causes and Harder Lessons. Challenge, 52(5). DOI: 10.2753/0577-5132520501.
World Bank (1993). The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Yoshikawa, H. (2000). Technical Progress and the Growth of the Japanese Economy ? past and future. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 16(2). DOI: 10.1093/oxrep/16.2.34.

Downloads

Published

31-12-2015

Issue

Section

Political economy and economic policy during the crisis

How to Cite

Siddiqui, K. (2015). Political economy of Japan?s decades long economic stagnation. Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, 10(4), 9-39. https://doi.org/10.12775/EQUIL.2015.033

Similar Articles

1-10 of 249

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.