The most compelling ideas about Japan’s political economy
Among the main ideas that I find compelling about the Japanese Political economy is that there was a time its growth was mainly fueled by a weakened Yen (Bellur 67). Because of this, it became much cheaper for Japan companies to access raw materials. I find this fact interesting because there is a chance that the political and bureaucratic heads of the country may at some point have intentionally kept the Yen from gain value in order to maintain this economic growth.
The other idea I find interesting about the growth of Japan’s economy is the fact that Japan has been able to enhance its export market to such an extent that it can afford to subsidize the costs of production for its small businesses and agricultural sectors. This is a unique approach to development because in most countries, the economic growth starts from small industries before advancing to the export market and not the other way round.
I also found it interesting that Japan was able to maintain a high growth rate in economy than other developed nations for almost a century by ensuring that very little imports were made. This, to me, was a very cunning and selfish way of getting the economy to grow and it is surprising that other countries did not pick it out early.
Muramatsu’s bureaucracy dominant, triad or tripod, and convergence models
Muramatsu’s explains that bureaucracy, the ruling Liberal Democratic party and big businesses worked as a unit in fostering the growth of Japan’s economy. The bureaucracy helped to source for markets for big businesses outside the country, while the ruling party set up structures to discourage the importation of products further increasing the markets for products made in the country.
Domestic and international explanations why Japan stopped growing
Japan’s economy stopped growing because of a decrease in a productive population, as an ageing population goes up (Mathews and White 164). This has forced the government to dedicate resources that would have been used for economic growth to welfare and supporting the aged members of its population.
Among the international factors that led to the decline in growth of the Japanese economy was the growth of financial globalization. While working towards their economic growth, Japan capitalized on the weak Yen to enhance its earnings from the export markets. However, over time, the Yen has strengthened in relation with other major currencies causing a slump in the earnings from exports.
Neoclassical economic analysis from political economy analysis
Neoclassical economic analysis is fundamentally a descriptive approach that focuses on the transformation of the economic environment as well as the policies (Yamamura 15). The major element distinguishing neoclassical analysis from other forms of economic analysis is that it does not provide an explanation of why the major political characters were successful in installing policies that had an impact in the modification of the economic environment.
Political economic analysis, unlike neoclassical analysis provides a categorical detailing of the involvement of the bureaucratic and political powers in the transformation of the economic landscape (Hook and Hasegawa 1,7). For instance, when evaluating the changes in the Japanese economic climate, if one evaluates the role of the Liberal Democratic Party in the successes attained between 1950s and 1960s, the final product is a form of political economic analysis.
Why Japan’s prewar bureaucrats survived the Allied Occupation efforts to democratize and liberalize postwar Japan
The prewar bureaucrats survived the democratization efforts because they held a claim to the country’s economic development by controlling the export market.
The occupation also briefly managed to get rid of the old regime, but after sometime the old leaders returned to national and local politics, bring with them the initially released bureaucrats.
Works Cited
Bellur, Aparna. Japanese economy: growth, decline and recovery. India: ICFAI Books, 2006. Print.
Hook, Glenn and Harukiyo Hasegawa. Political Economy of Japanese Globalization. London: Routledge, 2001. Print.
Mathews, Gordon and Bruce White. Japan’s Changing Generations: Are Young People Creating a New Society? London: Routledge, 2012. Print.
Yamamura, Kozo. The Economic Emergence of Modern Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.Print.