GEOG 210: Geog. of the World Economy/Fall 99

GEOGRAPHY 210: GEOGRAPHY OF THE WORLD ECONOMY

ASSIGNMENT 1:

Global Forces and Regional Fortunes Chapter on Japan

Due: Monday October 4th—20 points

Introduction

Your task is to edit and enrich the text chapter of Global Forces and Regional Fortunes on Japan. Start by downloading from the course web site a copy of the chapter and reading it carefully. Identify its weaknesses and focus some of your effort on trying to remedy those. For example, does the chapter provide enough basic empirical material (in the form of charts or tables) to identify trends observable? Does it give us explore alternative perspectives on trends observable or simply present one viewpoint? Does it probe deeply enough recent trends (the 1990s)? If you think that any of these ingredients have been weakly done, try to remedy those problems. In addition to remedying flaws, strike out in new directions. Take a closer at one or more issues or problems you find particularly interesting in the regional context you are examining which have not yet been addressed.

The result will be a collaborative work. Of course I need to be able to identify your contribution to the work. To facilitate this you will need to use the highlight tool to identify for me all the changes you have made to the chapter you started with. Like this—YELLOW works especially well!!! Submit a written copy and keep a disk copy until I decide whose revision most deserves to be added to our volume.

In my evaluation I will consider:

  • organization
  • clarity of writing
  • how well you integrated your work into the original (Don’t just tag it on)
  • evidence that you have done substantial reading
  • your ability to present basic concepts clearly
  • presence of effective charts and tables
  • sophistication of analysis
  • your willingness and ability to examine the material you use critically.

Remember to reference properly material taken from reserve (or other) readings and to include them in the References section of the chapter using the same format.

Suggested Length: 4-5 additional single-spaced (double between paragraphs) pages.

Case Library Items: Japan

Banno, Junji, ed., 1998. The Political Economy of Japanese Society, Volume 1, The State or the Market? New York: Oxford Univ. Press. (HC462.9 P5719 1997 vol, 1)

  • Chapter 1. Hashimoto Juro, Corporate structure and the Japanese economy, pp. 15-54.
  • Chapter 3. Tabata Hirokuni, industrial relations and the union movement, pp. 85-108.

Banno, Junji, ed., 1998. The Political Economy of Japanese Society, Volume 2, Internationalization and Domestic Issues. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. (HC462.9 P5719 1997 vol, 2)

  • Chapter 5. Osawa Mari, The feminization of the labour market, pp. 143-174.
  • Chapter 8. Nitta Michio, Employment relations after the collapse of the bubble economy, pp. 267-284.

Goto, Akira, and Odagiri, Hiroyuki, eds., 1997. Innovation in Japan. Oxford: Clarendon Press. (HC465 T4 I457 1997).

  • Chapter 4. Takahiro Fujimoto, The dynamic aspect of product development capabilities: an international comparison in the automobile industry, pp. 57-99.

Hart-Landsberg, Martin, and Burkett, Paul, 1998. Contradictions of capitalist industrialization in East Asia: a critique of “flying geese” theories of development, Economic Geography 74(2): 87-110. Especially pp. 87-97.

Ito, Takatoshi, 1996. Japan and the Asian economies: a miracle in transition, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2: pp. 205-272. Especially pp. 205-247.

Kenney, Martin , and Florida, Richard. 1993. Beyond Mass Production: the Japanese System and Its Transfer to the U.S. New York NY: Oxford Univ. Press. . (HD9736 J32 K46 1993) Chapter 2: Beyond Fordism; chapter 3: High-Technology Capitalism in Japan

Krugman, Paul, 1998. It’s baaack: Japan’s slump and the return of the liquidity trap, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2: 137-205. (For those with substantial economics background only)

Lincoln, Edward, 1998. Japan’s financial problems, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity,2: 347-375.

Myashita, Kenichi, and Russell, David, 1996. Keiretsu: Inside the Hidden Japanese Conglomerates. New York: McGraw-Hill. Especially chapters 1,2,3,4. (HD2756.2 J3 M59 1994)

Ravenhill, John. 1995. Japan, Volume 1. Brookfield, VT: Elgar. (HC462.95 J35 1995 vol. 1)

  • Chapter 12. Chalmers Johnson, 1982. The Japanese Miracle, pp. 315-349.
  • Chapter 20. David Friedman, 1988. Explaining the Japanese miracle, pp. 580-623.

Ravenhill, John. 1995. Japan, Volume 2. Brookfield, VT: Elgar. (HC462.95 J35 1995 vol. 2)

  • Chapter 6. Koichi Shimokawa, 1985. Japan’s keiretsu system: the case of the automobile industry, pp. 117-145.
  • Chapter 8. Michael Gerlach, 1992. Twilight of the keiretsu? A critical assessment, pp. 191-230.
  • Chapter 13. Robert Lawrence, 1989. Imports in Japan: closed markets or minds? pp. 340-371.
  • Chapter 15. Mordecai Kreinin, 1988. How closed is Japan’s market? Additional evidence, pp. 403-416.

Suzuki, Yoshio, 1996. The main issues facing Japan’s economy, Japan and the World Economy 8: 353-360.

Tabb, William, 1995. The Postwar Japanese System. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. (HC462.9 T14 1995). Especially chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 8,9,10.

Yasuaki, Oshika, 1999. Sony out to reinvent itself, Japan Quarterly July-September:47-53.