Cooperative Capitalism: Self-Regulation, Trade Associations, and the Antimonopoly Law in Japan

Ulrike Schaede
Additional contact information
Ulrike Schaede: University of California, San Diego

in OUP Catalogue from Oxford University Press

Abstract: The Japanese government is becoming less involved in shaping industrial policy-but what does this imply for the openness of Japanese markets to foreign competition? In an extensive study of 'post-development' Japan, Ulrike Schaede argues that, contrary to what many have suggested, the reduced role of government regulation may not result in more open markets. Instead, as has happened throughout Japanese history, deregulation and the recession of the 1990s have once again led Japanese trade associations to assume important regulatory functions of their own. They do this through 'self-regulation'-setting and enforcing the rules of trade for their industries, independent from the government. As a result, many Japanese markets are now effectively governed by incumbent firms, in particular in terms of structuring the distribution system. As the record of postwar antitrust enforcement reveals, Japan's antitrust system considers most activities of self-regulation, other than outright price-fixing, as legal. Using interviews and a unique database of trade association activities, this book concludes that increasing self-regulation renders both government deregulation programmes and international trade negotiations ineffective in opening Japanese markets. The implications of self-regulation for Japanese industry are mixed: while internationally competitive firms can use self-regulation to reduce competition at home in order to compete more forcefully abroad, some domestic industries, such as the financial sector, may suffer from increased self-protection.

Date: 2000
ISBN: 9780198297185
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oxp:obooks:9780198297185

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://ukcatalogue.o ... uct/9780198297185.do

Access Statistics for this book

More books in OUP Catalogue from Oxford University Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Economics Book Marketing ().