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Business Groups and the Big Push: Meiji Japan's Mass Privatization and Subsequent Growth

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Author Info
Randall Morck
Masao Nakamura

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Abstract

Rosenstein-Rodan (1943) and others posit that rapid development requires a 'big push' -- the coordinated rapid growth of diverse complementary industries, and suggests a role for government in providing such coordination. We argue that Japan's zaibatsu, or pyramidal business groups, provided this coordination after the Meiji government failed at the task. We propose that pyramidal business groups are private sector mechanisms for coordinating and financing 'big push' growth, and that unique historical circumstances aided their success in prewar Japan. Specifically, Japan uniquely marginalized its feudal elite; withdrew its hand with a propitious mass privatization that rallied the private sector; marginalized an otherwise entrenched first generation of wealthy industrialists; and remained open to foreign trade and capital.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 13171.

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Date of creation: Jun 2007
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13171

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G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
N15 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations - - - Asia including Middle East
N25 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Asia including Middle East
O14 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
O16 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment
O19 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
O2 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy
O21 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Planning Models; Planning Policy
O25 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy
O38 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Government Policy
O53 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
P1 - Economic Systems - - Capitalist Systems
P11 - Economic Systems - - Capitalist Systems - - - Planning, Coordination, and Reform
P12 - Economic Systems - - Capitalist Systems - - - Capitalist Enterprises

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