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| Author | Chalmers Johnson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | |
| Publisher | Stanford University Press |
| Publication date | 1982 |
| Publication place | United States |
MITI and the Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy, 1925-1975 is a 1982 book by American political scientist Chalmers Johnson. It is considered a landmark work in the study of Japanese economic history. The book establishes Johnson's theory of the developmental state, in which the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), an agency within the Japanese government, was the primary guiding force that enabled the Japanese economic miracle and allowed the country to become economically prosperous. Johnson is credited with popularizing the so-called “Japan, Inc.” school of thought, in which bureaucrats held power over the country much like a corporation and were the largest responsible factor for its success.
Summary of argument
editThe book is divided into nine chapters. In each, Johnson builds his argument for the developmental state theory, in which the bureaucracy and MITI were the primary factors that contributed to Japan's economic success.[1]
Reception
editMITI and the Japanese Miracle was immediately regarded as a landmark work, and was reviewed by many scholars in contemporary publications.
However, there has also been criticism of Johnson and the developmental state theory. The relative decline of Japan on the world stage after the end of the bubble economy in 1990 is seen as evidence against Johnson's ideas.
American political scientist Richard J. Samuels concurred with Johnson that MITI's guidance was an important factor in the immediate postwar recovery of the 1950s and 1960s, but argued that it became less relevant by the 1980s as MITI relaxed its previous strategies amid increasing external pressure from foreign trading partners. Samuels levied criticism towards what he perceived as Johnson’s exaggerations of the importance of state power and intervention while the relevance of the private sector was comparatively ignored.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ Johnson, Chalmers (1982). MITI and the Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy, 1925-1975. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804765602.
- ↑ Samuels, Richard J. (1987). The Business of the Japanese State. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801420221.
Further reading
edit- Johnson, Chalmers (1982). MITI and the Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy, 1925-1975. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804765602.