The Japanese Economic Miracle

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the dynamics and underlying causes of the Japanese economic revival that has occurred since the end of World War II, looking both at its economic components (such as the shift from agricultural to high-tech sectors) as well as the demographic and cultural elements that are just as important for understanding the Japanese economy.

From the Paper:

"The Japanese economic miracle is complex and can only be explained by looking to political, cultural, and economic reasons. It rests on the government's taking responsibility for social welfare, vocational training, and education. It rests on the responsibility taken by both consumers and producers for economic prosperity. It rests on the government's decision to concentrate on high-quality and high-technology products designed for domestic and foreign consumption and on the government's building stable, economically advanced trading partners to replace the Asian markets to which inexpensive textiles had been
sent earlier. A number of factors have greatly aided Japan's economic resurgence that began in the 1950s and has continued since then, among them (ironically) the complete destruction of the nation's industrial base by the war. This meant that Japan's new factories, using the latest developments in technology, were often more efficient than those of their foreign competitors. With the addition of a youthful and well-educated workforce, a high domestic savings rate that provided ample capital, and an activist government and bureaucracy that provided guidance, support, and subsidies, the ingredients were in place for rapid and sustained economic growth."

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