R & D Activities and the Technology Game: A Dynamic Model of U.S.-JapanCompetition

This paper presents an international comparison of R&D activities in basic and applied research. The commonly-held view that Japan is not spending much on basic technology development cannot be empirically substantiated from the study of the historical trends. However, the fact that in the U.S.A. the largest proportion of industrial R&D expenditures is spent on the defense and aero-space related industries (60%) ,while Japan is spending the largest proportion (60%) on the chemical, electronics, communication and automobile industries, may indicate that in effect Japan emphasizes the development of applied technology.The second part of the paper is to show how two countries, one with heavy R&D activities in basic technology (the U.S.A.)and the other with heavy R&D activities in applied technology(Japan), can compete in the world market with their productivity differences in basic and applied fields. A simple model of differential game is presented to explain how Japan can increase the market share by utilizing both the informational and productivity efficiencies.

"Macro Dynamics and Labor-Saving Innovation: US vs. Japan"

This article deals with the empirical analyses of the growth for the United States and Japan from 1970 to 2005. Following our analysis in "Quantity or Quality: The Impact of Labor-saving Innovation on US and Japanese Growth Rates, 1960-2004" (March 2007), we applied the same method to a different data series in order to confirm our previous findings. As with the previous paper, the results shown in this paper support our view that Japan's declining population can be compensated for by additional quality improvement of the existing labor force.

"Quantity or Quality: The Impact of Labor-Saving Innovation on US and Japanese Growth Rates, 1960-2004"

This article deals with both theoretical and empirical analyses of the post-war period (1960-2004) for the United States and Japan. We investigated three factors contributing to growth: the growth rates of capital, labor, and labor-saving innovation. It is shown that in Japan, the growth rate of the labor force has been much less important than its quality improvement-i.e., labor-saving technical change-while in the US, the growth rate of labor and population has contributed more than their quality improvement. The policy implication here is Japan's declining population can be compensated for by additional quality improvement of the existing labor force.

The Other Side of the Trade Imbalance: What Will Japan Do?

With the mounting U.S. trade deficit, much attention has centered on the role of U.S. macroeconomic policy and economic structure as contributing factors. This paper contends that the economic structure and policies of Japan have also done much to contribute to the trade imbalance. Institutional features of Japan's macroeconomy and industrial structure which have promoted her large trade surplus are discussed and industrial policies evaluated. Given the nature and magnitude of the role played by Japan in causing the bilateral trade imbalance, the next question the paper addresses is how Japan might best act to alleviate this imbalance. This section of the paper examines fiscal, monetary and other policy initiatives Japan might take to reduce the trade imbalance. The evidence stresses the desirability of expanding Japan's services industries, particularly leisure-related services.

The U.S. Japan Trade Imbalance from the Japanese Perspective

By 1981, Japan achieved both internal and external equilibrium; exports and imports roughly balanced at sixteen percent of the gross national product. However, within the country, there was concern that the growth in the government, accompanied by raising budget deficits, would make it impossible for the economy to cope with a future crisis similar to the oil price shocks of the seventies. The Chairman of Keidaren, Mr. Doko, called for a 'philosophy of preservance' requiring government austerity and individual sacrifice. The expected crises never occurred but the policies followed led to a balance of payment surplus. Scientific studies to determine the exact sources of these imbalances are few but indications are that forty percent of the gap was due to differences in growth in demand at home and abroad, thirty percent due to differences in the elasticity of import and export functions and thirty percent due to movement in the exchange rate. It is argued that political and economic frictions arise when it attempted to treat the symptom without reforming the fundamental structure. Proper strategies can convert the 'Zero-sum game' to a 'positive-sum' game.

Risk Adjusted Deposit Insurance for Japanese Banks

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the Japanese deposit insurance scheme by contrasting the flat insurance rate with a market-determined risk-adjusted rate. The model used to calculate the risk-adjusted rate is that of Ronn and Verrna (1986) . It utilizes the notion of Merton(1977) that the deposit insurance can be based on a one-to-one relation between it and the put option; this permits the application of Black and Scholes(1973) model for the calculation of the insurance rate. The risk adjusted premiums are calculated for the thirteen city banks and twenty-two regional banks. The inter-bank spread in risk-adjusted rates in Japan is found to be as wide as in the United States. But the insurance system is only one component of the safety network for a county's banking system. The difference in the American and Japanese networks is described and its implications for the evaluation of the insurance system is discussed.

Incomplete Appropriability of R&D and the Role of Strategies and Cultural Factors in International Trade: A Japanese Case

One of the proudest achievements of classical and neoclassical economics is the derivation of the superiority of free trade. This result is obtained by assuming constant returns to scale, perfect competition and absence of externalities. The recent realization that the incomplete appropriability of R&D is a main source of externalities and hence the effect of R&D on national welfare is potentially subject to strategic manipulations necessitates a careful examination of these assumptions. This paper discusses R&D and diffusion of technology in international trade from two different perspectives. In Section II, we consider the role of cultural, social and historical factors in the appropriation of technology by reviewing how Japan has appropriated foreign technology. In Section III, we survey three strategic trade models to obtain some insights into the role of R&D and diffusion of technology in the context of imperfect competition. The issues we discuss include the effectiveness of R&D polices by a national government and the impact of R&D policies and diffusion of technology on the incentive to do R&D and on the outcome of trade.

Upper airway evaluation of children with unilateral cleft lip and palate using computational fluid dynamics

Introduction: Children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) exhibit snoring and mouth breathing. They are also reported to show obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. However, their upper airway ventilation condition is not clearly understood. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate upper airway ventilation condition in children with UCLP with the use of computational fluid dynamics. Methods: Twenty-one children (12 boys, 9 girls; mean age 9.1 years) with UCLP and 25 children (13 boys, 12 girls; mean age 9.2 years) without UCLP who required orthodontic treatment underwent cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Nasal resistance and upper airway ventilation condition were evaluated with the use of computational fluid dynamics from CBCT data. The groups were compared with the use of Mann-Whitney U tests and Student t tests. Results: Nasal resistance of the UCLP group (0.97 Pa/cm3/s) was significantly higher than that of the control group (0.26 Pa/cm3/s; P < 0.001). Maximal pressure of the upper airway (335.02 Pa) was significantly higher in the UCLP group than in the control group (67.57 Pa; P < 0.001). Pharyngeal airway (from choanae to base of epiglottis) pressure in the UCLP group (140.46 Pa) was significantly higher than in the control group (15.92 Pa; P < 0.02). Conclusions: Upper airway obstruction in children with UCLP resulted from both nasal and pharyngeal airway effects