Japan's Model of Economic Development: Relevant and nonrelevant Elements for Developing Economies

Japan was the first non-western country to accomplish successful industrialization, and the dominant perception of its .industrial policy. had over-emphasized specific characteristics of Japan. However, from the perspective of today.s development thinking, Japan.s economic history shared a wide range of common factors in usual economic development: macroeconomic stability, human resource development, and economic infrastructure. Industrial policy in Japan sometimes worked well and sometimes did not, depending on how effectively it counteracted market failure and took advantage of market dynamism. We must note, however, that the external conditions faced by Japan were widely different from what today.sindustrial policy, industrialization, trade liberalization, macroeconomic stability, economic infrastructure

Globalizing Activities and the Rate of Survival: Panel Data Analysis on Japanese Firms

This paper conducts a Cox-type survival analysis of Japanese corporate firms using census-coverage data collected by METI. A study of exiting firms confirmed several characteristics of Japanese firms in the 1990s. First, excessive internalization in the corporate structure and activities is harmful to corporate survival. Having too many establishments and affiliates weakens corporate performance. Efficient concentration on core competences increases the probability of survival. Second, global commitment helps Japanese firms be more competitive and more likely to survive. However, the channels of a firm's global commitment must be carefully selected. Small firms can benefit from exporting activities, though having foreign affiliates or conducting foreign outsourcing might aggravate their performance. Large firms, on the other hand, can conduct foreign direct investment and foreign outsourcing to possibly enhance the probability of their survival. Third, while corporate performance affects the choice of exits for affiliate firms, it does not affect the survival/exit of independent firms; suggesting the possible malfunctioning of the market mechanisms in the exits of independent firms. Fourth, we do not find any statistically significant evidence that firms with foreign shareholders are more likely to exit; there is little evidence of foot-loose behavior among foreign companies.

International Production Networks in Machinery Industries: Structure and Its Evolution

This paper intensively employs annual international trade statistics obtained from the UN Comtrade and examines to what degree East Asian countries have participated in global production networks in comparison with countries in other regions and whether East Asia’s intra-regional trade in machinery is different from extra-regional trade and transactions by other regions. It provides strong evidence of the formation of East Asian production networks, particularly in the form of expansion of exports and imports of parts & components, often ICT-related. It also traces the development of intra-regional markets of both parts & components and finished products since 2000.

Production Networks in East Asia: What We Know So Far

Production networks in East Asia, particularly in the manufacturing and machinery industries, are well recognized as the most advanced in the world, in terms of their magnitude, extensiveness, and sophistication. This paper tries to link various economic studies on related topics, to see how much we understand about production networks in East Asia. After providing a brief overview of international trade statistics, the paper reviews a number of academic papers concerning (i) the structure and mechanics of production networks, (ii) the conditions for production networks, and (iii) the properties and implications thereof.fragmentation; agglomeration; vertical specialization; multinational enterprises; foreign direct investment