Current Issues of the Japanese Economy
Ryoichi Imai
International Student Center, Kyushu University
2004/04/02
Contents
This course is designed to provide opportunities to acquire some fundamental knowledge of the Japanese economy at both macroeconomic and microeconomic levels. In the spring semester, the lecture will focus on the structural problems of the Japanese Economy, such as the productivity gap between manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, inefficiency of corporate governance, the fragile financial system, useless public investments, and inflexible corporate personnel practices.
In fact,
Organization, Attendance, and Other Requirements
Course attendants are required to submit SIX homeworks on the reading materials in English, and make ONE oral presentation of a chapter of the reading materials. In each homework assignment, I will give you 10 questions. on average. You cannot answer to the questions unless you read the reading material, which are handed out in advance. If you need to obtain more than two credits, I will provide extra homeworks.
Regular class attendance is strictly required.
There is no final (written) examination. Your grade heavily depends on your performances in the class discussion, the presentation, and the homeworks.
None.
Assessment Details (as of April 2004)
Class Attendance and Discussion 20%
Homework 60%
Presentation 20%
4/7: Introduction
4/14: Reading recent articles (newspapers and journals) on Japanese Economy 1.
4/21: Reading recent articles (newspapers and journals) on Japanese Economy 2.
4/28: Students' Presentation 1, Homework 1 due.
Robert Gordon: Does the "New Economy" Measure Up to the Great Inventions of the Past ? (26 pages)
5/12: Review of Homework 1
5/19: Students' Presentation 2, Homework 2 due.
Paul Krugman: A Short Course in Miracles: Asia before the Crisis (17 pages)
5/26: Review of Homework 2
6/2: Students' Presentation, 3 Homework 3 due.
Hoshi and Kashyap, Benefits and Costs of Keiretsu Financing (25 pages)
6/9: Review of Homework 3
6/16: Students' Presentation 4, Homework 4 due.
Morishima, Ch. 4: The Japanese Financial System: Its Solidarity and Vulnerability (51 pages)
6/23: Review of Homework 4
6/30: Students' Presentation 5, Homework 5 due.
Morishima, Ch. 5: Japanese Enterprise as Private Sector Bureaucracy (18 pages)
7/7: Review of Homework 5
7/14: Students' Presentation 6, Homework 6 due
Morishima, Ch. 6: Polarization under Capitalism from Above (41 pages)
7/21: Review of Homework 6.