IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/irapec/v16y2002i4p373-390.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Revisiting the Roots of Japan's Economic Stagnation: The role of the Japanese corporation

Author

Listed:
  • Keith Cowling
  • Philip Tomlinson

Abstract

For a long period in the 20th century, the development of the Japanese corporation appeared congruent with the development of the Japanese economy. The growth-maximising behaviour of the Japanese corporation and the preference for internal growth over acquisitions (see Odagiri, 1992) appeared to suit the long-term ambitions of Japan. Now, that formerly clear connection between the ambitions of corporate Japan and the Japanese public interest is no longer so clear. Increasingly, the global ambitions of the corporation appear as an impediment to Japan's economic development. By favouring the development of large-scale transnational corporations, Japanese industrial policy-making appears to have contained a fundamental flaw. Japan is now dominated by large-scale organisations with global ambitions, controlled by corporate elites. It is unlikely that their strategic decisions will correspond with the wider public interest, which raises the possibility that Japan is now afflicted with 'strategic failure'. Other examples from around the world suggest that Japan is not unique in this respect. Alternative ways forward are suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • Keith Cowling & Philip Tomlinson, 2002. "Revisiting the Roots of Japan's Economic Stagnation: The role of the Japanese corporation," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 373-390.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:irapec:v:16:y:2002:i:4:p:373-390
    DOI: 10.1080/02692170210161129
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02692170210161129
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/02692170210161129?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Teece, David J, 1993. "The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism: Perspectives on Alfred Chandler's Scale and Scope," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 31(1), pages 199-225, March.
    2. Masahiko Aoki, 2013. "Toward an Economic Model of the Japanese Firm," Chapters, in: Comparative Institutional Analysis, chapter 18, pages 315-341, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Hanazaki, Masaharu & Horiuchi, Akiyoshi, 2000. "Is Japan's Financial System Efficient?," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 16(2), pages 61-73, Summer.
    4. Cooke, Philip, 2001. "Regional Innovation Systems, Clusters, and the Knowledge Economy," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(4), pages 945-974, December.
    5. Cowling, Keith & Tomlinson, Philip R., 2002. "The Problem Of Regional "Hollowing Out" In Japan : Lessons For Regional Industrial Policy," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 625, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    6. Breschi, Stefano & Malerba, Franco, 2001. "The Geography of Innovation and Economic Clustering: Some Introductory Notes," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(4), pages 817-833, December.
    7. Kogut, Bruce & Chang, Sea Jin, 1996. "Platform Investments and Volatility Exchange Rates: Direct Investment in the U.S. by Japanese Electronic Companies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(2), pages 221-231, May.
    8. Cowling, Keith & Sugden, Roger, 1998. "The Essence of the Modern Corporation: Markets, Strategic Decision-Making and the Theory of the Firm," The Manchester School of Economic & Social Studies, University of Manchester, vol. 66(1), pages 59-86, January.
    9. Cowling, Keith & Tomlinson, Philip R, 2000. "The Japanese Crisis--A Case of Strategic Failure?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(464), pages 358-381, June.
    10. Glyn, Andrew & Rowthorn, Bob, 1988. "West European Unemployment: Corporatism and Structural Change," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 194-199, May.
    11. Best, Michael, 2001. "The New Competitive Advantage: The Renewal of American Industry," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198297451.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jonathan Perraton, 2019. "The scope and implications of globalisation," Chapters, in: Jonathan Michie (ed.), The Handbook of Globalisation, Third Edition, chapter 3, pages 50-76, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Cowling, Keith & Tomlinson, Philip r., 2001. "The Problem of Regional "Hollowing Out" in Japan: Lessons for Regional Industrial Policy," Economic Research Papers 269399, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    3. Pitelis, Christos N & Tomlinson, Philip R, 2017. "Industrial organisation, the degree of monopoly and macroeconomic performance – A perspective on the contribution of Keith Cowling (1936–2016)," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 182-189.
    4. W. R. Garside, 2012. "Japan’s Great Stagnation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14624.
    5. Cowling, Keith & Tomlinson, Philip R., 2002. "The Problem Of Regional "Hollowing Out" In Japan : Lessons For Regional Industrial Policy," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 625, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cowling, Keith & Tomlinson, Philip R., 2002. "Re-Visiting The Roots Of Japan'S Structural Decline:The Role Of The Japanese Corporation," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 624, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    2. Cowling, Keith & Tomlinson, Philip R., 2001. "Re-visiting the Roots of Japan's Structural Decline: The Role of the Japanese Corporation," Economic Research Papers 269398, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    3. Cowling, Keith & Tomlinson, Philip R., 2002. "The Problem Of Regional "Hollowing Out" In Japan : Lessons For Regional Industrial Policy," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 625, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    4. Pier Paolo Patrucco, 2005. "The emergence of technology systems: knowledge production and distribution in the case of the Emilian plastics district," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 29(1), pages 37-56, January.
    5. David A. Wolfe & Meric S. Gertler, 2004. "Clusters from the Inside and Out: Local Dynamics and Global Linkages," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(5-6), pages 1071-1093, May.
    6. Ushijima, Tatsuo, 2008. "Domestic bank health and foreign direct investment," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 291-309, September.
    7. Maryann Feldman & Frederick Guy & Simona Iammarino, 2021. "Regional income disparities, monopoly and finance," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 14(1), pages 25-49.
    8. Simona Iammarino & Philip McCann, 2010. "The Relationship between Multinational Firms and Innovative Clusters," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Dario Diodato & Andrea Morrison, 2019. "Technological regimes and the geography of innovation: a long-run perspective on US inventions," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1924, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2019.
    10. Dirk Crass & Christian Rammer & Birgit Aschhoff, 2019. "Geographical clustering and the effectiveness of public innovation programs," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(6), pages 1784-1815, December.
    11. Joost van Acht & Joop Stam & Roy Thurik & Ingrid Verheul, 2004. "Business Ownership and Unemployment in Japan," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2004-09, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
    12. Wilson Suzigan & João Furtado & Renato Garcia, 2007. "Designing Policies for Local Production Systems: A Methodology Based on Evidence from Brazil," Economia, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics], vol. 8(1), pages 161-186.
    13. Leslie Williams & Stephen McGuire, 2010. "Economic creativity and innovation implementation: the entrepreneurial drivers of growth? Evidence from 63 countries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 391-412, May.
    14. Mehrotra, Vikas & van Schaik, Dimitri & Spronk, Jaap & Steenbeek, Onno, 2011. "Creditor-Focused Corporate Governance: Evidence from Mergers and Acquisitions in Japan," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(4), pages 1051-1072, August.
    15. Lisa De Propris & Ping Wei, 2007. "Governance and Competitiveness in the Birmingham Jewellery District," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(12), pages 2465-2486, November.
    16. Cowling, Keith & Tomlinson, Philip r., 2001. "The Problem of Regional "Hollowing Out" in Japan: Lessons for Regional Industrial Policy," Economic Research Papers 269399, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    17. Krammer, Sorin M.S., 2015. "Science, technology and innovation for economic competitiveness: the role of smart specialization in less-developed countries," MPRA Paper 80203, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Castellacci, Fulvio, 2008. "Innovation and the competitiveness of industries: comparing the mainstream and the evolutionary approaches," MPRA Paper 27523, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Hemert, P. van & Nijkamp, P., 2009. "Knowledge investments, business R&D and innovativeness of countries. A qualitative meta-analytic comparison," Serie Research Memoranda 0041, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    20. Adele Parmentola, 2017. "Matching Local and Global Dimensions: A Knowledge Based Approach to Classify European Life Sciences Clusters," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:irapec:v:16:y:2002:i:4:p:373-390. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CIRA20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.