Product Market Competition and Economic Performance in Japan

Jens Høj and Michael Wise

No 387, OECD Economics Department Working Papers from OECD Publishing

Abstract: Empirical work shows that competition is important for promoting economic growth. However, in Japan the promotion of competition has long been compromised by ministerial guidance and exemptions from the competition law. Thus, the level and growth of productivity have been low in many domestically oriented sectors and consumer welfare has suffered under high prices and the slow introduction of new goods and services. This misallocation of resources contributes to explaining why the Japanese economy had difficulty in coming out of the quasi-stagnation of the past decade. Recognising that gains from more pro-competition policies are substantial, the Japanese government has now made the promotion of competitive markets a cornerstone of its economic policy. Reforms to promote product market competition in Japan should inter alia focus on strengthening the legal framework by increasing fines to a deterrent level and introducing cartel destabilising measures, such as a leniency ...

Concurrence sur les marchés de produits et performance économique au Japon Des études empiriques montrent que la concurrence est importante pour promouvoir la croissance économique. Mais au Japon, la stimulation de la concurrence a longtemps été compromise par des directives ministérielles et des exemptions au droit de la concurrence. Aussi, le niveau et le taux de croissance de la productivité ont été bas dans de nombreux secteurs tournés vers le marché intérieur, et le bien-être des consommateurs a souffert de prix élevés et d’une diffusion trop lente des nouveaux biens et services. Cette mauvaise allocation des ressources contribue à expliquer pourquoi l’économie japonaise n’est pas parvenue à sortir de la quasi-stagnation de la dernière décennie. Conscient que des politiques plus propices au jeu de la concurrence peuvent s’avérer très bénéfiques, le gouvernement japonais a fait de la promotion des marchés concurrentiels l’une des pièces maîtresses de sa politique économique. Les réformes visant à stimuler la concurrence sur les marchés de produits au ...

Keywords: antitrust law; cartel; competition law; droit de la concurrence; energy; entente; industrie de réseau; Japan; Japon; marchés publics; network industries; postal services; productivity and growth; productivité et croissance; public procurement; regulatory reforms; retail sector; réforme de la réglementation; réglementation anti-trust; secteur de détail; services postaux; telecommunications; transport; transportation; télécommunications; énergie (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 K21 L11 L16 L33 L42 L43 L81 L87 L92 L93 L94 L95 L96 O53 O57 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-05-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-ind, nep-law, nep-net and nep-sea
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:387-en

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