Economic Development of Japan
No.11 Economic Maturity & Slowdown
YEN
OIL
TRADE
TOPICS – 1970s & 80s
• End of catching up, economic maturity• Global stagflation in the 1970s• Growth vs. inequality (and other social evils)• Interpretation of the Japan system• Current account surplus & international
politics – trade friction, exchange rate pressure, systemic demands
• The 1955 Regime (LDP dominance)
Growth Slowdown in the 1970s-80s• Japan’s economic maturity—income reached
the world’s highest level• Oil shock and global stagflation• General floating of major currencies
Catching Up: Real Per Capita GNP(1995 dollars, conversion at actual exchange rate)
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
US 10582 12060 13046 15454 17310 18754 21392 23858 26744 28157
J apan 776 1336 2127 3984 6962 11676 16486 15658 28912 40421
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1994
US
J apan
Per Capita Income at PPP(US=100, price- level
adjusted)
0
20
40
60
80
100
1955 1965 1975 1980
ItalyUKJapan
FranceW.Ger.US
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Japan
Singapore
Hong Kong
Taiwan
S. Korea
Malaysia
Thailand
Indonesia
Philippines
Vietnam
China
Speed of Catching Up: East Asia
Sources: Angus Maddison, The World Economy: Historical Statistics, OECD Development Centre, 2003; the Central Bank of the Republic of China; and IMF, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2010 (for updating).
Per capita real income relative to US(Measured by the 1990 international Geary-Khamis dollars)
Real GDP Growth (Fiscal Year – April to March)
Source: The System of National Accounts site, Cabinet Office.
Average 1974-90 4.2%
Average 1991-2010 0.9%
Average 1956-73 9.1%
The Cause of 1970s Stagflation
Supply shock view• OPEC’s oil price hike was the main cause.
Aggressive wage hikes also contributed.
• Expansionary fiscal & monetary policy accommodated and softened the blow.
Global monetarist view• As US lost monetary discipline, the fixed rate
regime collapsed in 1971-73 and USD fell.
• Major central banks expanded money to counter appreciation pressure, causing global liquidity glut in the early 1970s.
• Oil shock was the result, not the cause, of global inflation.
PP.188-90
AS
AD
P
Y
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
%World Money Growth
Source: McKinnon (1979), p.264
Bretton Woods World Dollar Standard• USA as the center country providing price stability to the world (“benign
neglect”: US to mind domestic affairs only); all other countries set “parities” against US$ (“adjustable peg”). Gold=US$=other currencies
• 1950s-early 60s: American prices were stable; BW system achieved high growth & price stability globally.
• Mid 60s-early 70s: US began to inflate & US$ was under downward pressure (war in Vietnam, social welfare, space race with USSR).
• Gold=US$ link broken (1968); US$=other currencies link broken (1971-73: Nixon Shock). Floating exchange rates began.
Monetary Growth and Inflation (12- month change)
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%19
65Q
119
66Q
119
67Q
119
68Q
119
69Q
119
70Q
119
71Q
119
72Q
119
73Q
119
74Q
119
75Q
119
76Q
119
77Q
119
78Q
119
79Q
119
80Q
119
81Q
119
82Q
119
83Q
119
84Q
119
85Q
119
86Q
119
87Q
119
88Q
119
89Q
119
90Q
119
91Q
119
92Q
119
93Q
119
94Q
119
95Q
119
96Q
119
97Q
119
98Q
119
99Q
1
M2+CDWPICPI
Monetary Growth and Inflation (12-month change)
Bretton Woods fixed dollar system ends General float
begins
1st oil shock 2nd oil shock
Plaza Agreement
Bubble
Bubble collapses
P.187
High Growth & Inequality Japan, Korea and Taiwan narrowed internal income
gaps (personal, sectoral, regional); but in China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc. income became polarized during high growth.
To sustain growth and achieve high income, three policies are needed. In principle, they can be executed separately—cf. “pro-poor growth,” “inclusive growth”(1) Industrial policy—creation of growth sources (2) Social policy—coping with new problems caused by
high growth: income gaps, pollution, migration, traffic, congestion, crime & corruption, cultural change…
(3) Macroeconomic management under globalization—coping with global business cycles, price shocks, huge and unstable capital flows
Separability of Growth & Social Policies in E.Asia’s Successful Latecomers
Economic growth
New social problems Macro instability under
integration
Political stability
Developmental policies
Exit to a richer & more democratic society (examples: Korea, Taiwan)
START
END
Supplementing policiesA few decades later
Generation of growth sources
- Social policies- New macro management
0
20
40
60
80
100
Low
est
20%
Nex
t 20
%
Nex
t 20
%
Nex
t 20
%
Top
20%
J apan (1969)
US (1972)
W. Germany (1973)
France (1970)
UK (1973)
Italy (1969)
Productivity Change by Industry (%/ year)
-4-202468
1012
Food
Tex
tiles
Woo
d pr
oduc
ts
Pap
er a
nd p
ulp
Che
mic
als
Oil
and
gas
Cer
amic
s et
c.
Iron
and
ste
el
Non
ferr
ous
met
als
Met
al p
rodu
cts
Gen
eral m
achi
nery
Elec
tric
al m
achi
nery
Tra
nspo
rt m
achi
nery
Pre
cisi
on m
achi
nery
1954- 731974- 90
McKinnon-Ohno (1997) chap.2
Productivity Slowdown
(estimated by labor-material Cobb-Douglas prod. func.)
Income Distribution (Lorenz Curve)OECD Economic Outlook, July 1976
--Postwar land reform--Agricultural subsidies (1955 Regime)--Labor migration to cities
Sharing of Fruits of Growth between Rich & Poor, Urban & Rural, Industry & Agriculture
• Japan around 1960s—direct (income) tax for redistribution, rural-urban labor migration, SME support, fiscal policy in favor of rural areas (public investment, agro subsidy & protection, regional development plans, etc.); household Gini coef.: 0.31 (1963), 0.25 (1970)
• Korea around 1970s—Saemaul (New Village) Movement for invigorating and improving rural life and production; regional income gaps were small and even narrowed; regional Gini coef: 0.16 (1971), 0.08 (1981), 0.06 (1991)
• Taiwan 1960s-80s—Strong export-led growth driven by vigorous SMEs
• Indonesia—Gini coefficient 0.32 in 1990, 0.33 in 2002, 0.41 in 2012.
The Japan System: Delayed Reform?
• After catch-up industrialization, Japan should have changed its system in the 1970s
• However, large macro shocks (oil shocks, floating, stagflation, trade disputes) diverted policy makers’ attention from structural issues.
• As a result, the Japanese economy continues to be over-regulated even today.
Opposing view:• Don’t copy US financial capitalism—trust, stability,
equity, patience, teamwork should be maintained.
PP.190-91
Long-term relationsOfficial intervention
Open marketsPrivate initiative
The 1940 Regime: Farewell to the War Economy by Yukio Noguchi (1995)
• I would like to advance the hypothesis that the key components of the Japanese economy today were created during the war.
• The 1940 Regime--(i) production-first; (ii) suppression of competition, (iii) social policies to reduce friction
• These alien systems were implanted to execute total war (enterprise system, finance, bureaucracy, land reform) and they continued as systemic core even after the war.
• They worked well for high growth, but not for coping with change. Deregulation and consumer-oriented society cannot be realized unless this regime is removed.
Kaikaku Gyakuso (Reform in Reverse) by Hiroko Ota, GRIPS (2010)
• Prof. Ota was the Minister of Economy and Fiscal Policy during 2006-2008 (serving PM Abe and PM Fukuda), promoting economic deregulation and fiscal discipline.
• The Democratic Party government (2009-2012 ) has reversed the economic reform and reintroduced past policies that do not work any more:– Fiscal activism & random subsidies leading to fiscal
crisis– Economic deregulation was slowed down or reversed.
Mercantilist Pressure on Surplus CountriesKomiya (1994), McKinnon-Ohno (1997), McKinnon (2005)
When a country emerges as a new industrial power, it is often criticized for unfair trade practice and an undervalued currency. Trade and exchange pressures mount. But the trade gap cannot be eliminated by currency appreciation or trade liberalization.
Ronald McKinnon
Elasticities Approach vs. Absorption Approachin Financially Open EconomiesConventional view (elasticities approach)
• Exchange rate adjustment can reduce Japan’s trade surplus and US trade deficit.Fred Bergsten, W. Cline (IIE, Washington)
Krugman—the Mass. Ave. Model: Imports = f (yt, rert-2)
Friedman, Krugman— “daylight saving time” argument for currency float
PP.191-94
Our unconventional view (syndrome of the ever-higher yen)
• Thanks to wrong economics and Washington lobbying, the yen-dollar rate was manipulated for mercantile purposes.
• But yen appreciation could not reduce Japan’s surplus and US deficit, because it was structural (US savings < US investment). The real solution was increasing US savings. Current account = Y – A = S – I
• Intermittent yen appreciation only destabilized the Japanese economy through recession, deflation and depressed interest rates.
Japan’s surplus with US
1971-73, 1977-78, 1985-87, 1993-95 Pressure to
appreciate yen
Bilateral tradenegotiations
Persistenttrade gap
American responses
Reinforcement through failure
Exchange Rate Impacts Are Complex...
E Tradebalance
Competi-tiveness
Inflation
Absorption
Monetaryexpansion
(-)offset
(-)
(+/?)
Pass-through
Reverseabsorption effect
Yen appreciation
Relative price effect
LM curve shifts
Subject to M-L condition & J-curve
Price channel
Quantity channel
Engi-neered
“Endaka fukyo” orhigh-yen induced recession
--Countries with large foreign exchange inflows often buy up USD to resist currency appreciation
--However, having too much foreign reserves may cause: --Excess liquidity and bubbles --Unbalanced asset position --Exchange risk
International ReservesTrade surplus against US ($billion)
“Original sin” (inability to borrow in home currency)• Developing countries that borrow in USD face
exchange risks in trade and debt payments. This may lead to higher risk premium, higher interest rates, balance-sheet mismatches, and the possibility of currency crisis.
“Conflicted virtue” (inability to lend in home currency)• Any high-saving country that lends in USD faces (i)
exchange risk on accumulated foreign assets, both private and public; and (ii) accusation of unfair trade and pressure to appreciate the currency by deficit countries (esp. US)
• If the leading economy (US) is the largest lender, this problem does not arise. In fact, it is now the largest borrower.
Estimates of Japan’s Net Liquid International Asset Holdings
(% of GDP)
- 10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
PrivateOfficial
USD 1.17 trillion
Source: R. McKinnon, “Japan’s Deflationary Hangover: The Syndrome of the Ever-Weaker Yen,” April 2007.
The 1955 Regime (LDP political dominance)• The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) formed in 1955,
held power until now (except 1993-96, 2009-12)• Securing rural votes by subsidizing agriculture and
building rural infrastructure (firmly established by PM Kakuei Tanaka 1972-74).
• LDP had many factions and zoku-giin groups (politicians promoting subsidies in particular sectors)
• Opposition parties were too weak to challenge LDP’s rule.
• Reform movement inside LDP Koizumi reform—how successful? Was it desirable? Abe, Fukuda, Aso: weak PMs Now second Abe
P.178
LDP
Factions & zoku-giin
Other parties
Pure dictatorship
Full democracy
Democratic institution
(Form)
Political competition
ConstitutionLawsParliamentElectionCourt
Reform vs conservatism, big vs small government, other policy debates
EdoMeiji
Taisho
Fascism
ConstitutionParliament
Democracy movement,
Party cabinet
DemocratizationNew constitution
Showa2
War1937
1945-51 LDP dominanceLack of policy debate
Male suffrage
1960US rule
Defeat
Showa1
1889
1925
1931Military rises
1937-45
(Content)Political fights
Now?