The Ministry of Finance: Bureaucratic Practices and the Transformation of the Japanese Economy

(Hardback)

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Description

Japan's economy, once the envy of the world, has recently experienced a period of malaise and stagnation. This is due in part to over-regulation and resistance to change within the Japanese bureaucracy. Many argue that this bureaucracy must be replaced with a system similar to that in the United States, involving ruthless competition, fluid job markets unhindered by notions of lifetime employment, tolerance of business failures, and the elevation of conflict over consensus in economic decision making. The author argues that not only will the bureaucracy, in the form of the Ministry of Finance, retain its position, it will also evolve to be more consistent with the transformed economic system allowing the Japanese economy to recover and retain its important role in the global economy. The book details the history of the Ministry of Finance and Japan's financial markets since World War II. It describes the economic crisis in Asia and Japan's attempts to transform its bureaucracy to better compete in the global arena. Economists, business practitioners, trade specialists, and anyone interested in Japan's role in the world economy will find this lucid and detailed book an invaluable resource.

Reviews

This is an excellent guide to the reader of the tremendous power and influence of the MOF.-Journal of Asian Business
This study will be valuable to a broad range of readers. While those new to Japan's postwar financial system will find a clear explanation of how it has worked and evolved over the past forty or fifty years, specialists will learn new details.-Enterprise & Society
"This is an excellent guide to the reader of the tremendous power and influence of the MOF."-Journal of Asian Business
"This study will be valuable to a broad range of readers. While those new to Japan's postwar financial system will find a clear explanation of how it has worked and evolved over the past forty or fifty years, specialists will learn new details."-Enterprise & Society

Author Bio

J. ROBERT BROWN, JR. is a Professor of Law at the University of Denver College of Law. Before joining the faculty, he practiced law in Washington, DC in both private practice and with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has written a number of books and articles on the financial markets of Japan and the states of the former Soviet Union.