Overview
Several years have passed since the 'store wars' over barriers to foreign products at Japanese distribution firms. Yet among English-speaking readers, how these firms operate remains a puzzle. In this book, the best Japanese scholars in their fields attempt to unravel that puzzle. Avoiding culture-based explanations, they employ a systematic and rigorous economic logic---yet, since they also avoid mathematical notation, the argument remains accessible to generalist readers.Collectively, the authors make four basic points:* Within a country, distribution is less similar than it appears. Not only does it vary enormously across industries, but it often varies within a given industry as well.* Across countries, distribution is less diverse than it appears. Although appearances sometimes suggest major cross-national contrasts, on more careful analysis the differences often disappear. * Distribution sometimes depends on the product involved. Because distribution functions as the principal means by which manufacturers acquire information about consumer preferences, the character of distribution can depend crucially both on demand patterns and on manufacturing technology. * In the absence of regulatory intervention, distribution generally will be efficient and non-exclusionary. Regulation usually introduces inefficiency and often creates barriers to entry. Importantly, however, the targets of exclusion will less often involve foreign than domestic competitors.To illustrate these points, the authors draw on both analyses that cross various sectors and analyses that are specific to sectors; they study both regulated and unregulated industries; they describe industries with extensive imports, industries with extensive exports, and industries with neither; they examine the effect of technological change; and they introduce a variety of case studies, from agriculture and automobiles to electrical appliances and apparel.
Full Product Details
Author: Yoshiro Miwa (, University of Tokyo) ,
Kiyohiko G. Nishimura (, University of Tokyo) ,
J. Mark Ramseyer (, Harvard University)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 16.40cm
, Height: 2.00cm
, Length: 24.40cm
Weight: 0.465kg
ISBN: 9780199248902
ISBN 10: 0199248907
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 10 January 2002
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
The book is rich in relevant and easy-to-understand statistics, and the economic reasoning accompanying the statistics is short but helpful. Pacific Affairs ... immensely readable and even enjoyable. Pacific Affairs ... a first-rate product by several Japanese economists with a clear objective, which is to use sound economic principles to set straight the long-standing disputes and stereotyped misconceptions regarding the Japanese distribution industry. Pacific Affairs Readers who seek facts on the Japanese distribution system will find plenty in this volume. Journal of Japanese Studies
Author Information
Yoshiro Miwa: Lecturer in Economics (1976--77) and Associate Professor of Economics (1977--86), Shishu University; Associate Professor of Economics (1986--89) and Professor of Economics (1989--present), The University of Tokyo. Kiyohiko G. Nishimura: Arthur M. Okun Research Fellow, Brookings Institution (1981--82), Associate Professor of Economics (1983--94) and Professor of Economics (1994--present), The University of Tokyo. J. Mark Ramseyer: law clerk to Hon. Stephen Breyer, 1st Cir. U.S. Court of Appeals (1982--83); associate attorney, Sidley & Austin (1983--85); Fulbright Fellow, University of Tokyo Faculty of Law (1985--86); Acting Professor of Law (1986--89) and Professor of Law (1989--92), UCLA; Professor of Law (1992--97) and Harold & Marion Green Professor of International Legal Studies (1997--98), University of Chicago; Mitsubishi Professor of Japanese Legal Studies, Harvard University (1998--present).
