Parallel Politics

Samuel Kernell

doi:10.5771/9780815717805

Summary

While much has been written about economic competition between the United States and Japan, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that their relationship is founded essentially on each sides' domestic political concerns. Many critics have concluded that to gain a new equilibrium in relations, the two counties must develop a sophisticated appreciation of each other's political dynamics. Because budgets, taxes and macroeconomic policy are so central to activities of both governments, this book, by Japanese and American experts, focuses on the role of political institutions in formulating economic policy. Despite the differences in the two counties political systemsone-party/parliamentary versus two-party/presidentialthere are striking similarities in the way politics is transacted in Japan and the United States. In particular, politicians in both countries are motivated primarily by the desire to serve local constituencies, which leads to overly parochial public policies. Combining case studies and discussions, the contributors provide an overview of the Japanese and American political systems, particularly those aspects that are most relevant to economic policymaking. In addition, they offer a comparative analysis of the politics of budgeting, tax reform, and structural policies

Search publication

Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2010
ISBN-Print: 978-0-8157-4891-5
ISBN-Online: 978-0-8157-1780-5
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 390
Product type: Edited Book

1. Contents No access
1. A Framework for Comparative Analysis No access
2. Politics versus Culture No access
3. The Essays No access
1. 1. Political Institutions and Government Performance No access
  2. The Historical Legacy No access
  3. The Contemporary System No access
  4. Toward a New Institutional Equilibrium No access
2. 1. Historical Overview No access
  2. The Public Sector No access
  3. Budget Compilation No access
1. 1. Presidential Ascendancy No access
  2. Party Governance in Congress No access
  3. The Partisan Roots of Deficits No access
  4. Conclusion No access
2. 1. The Budget Process in Japan No access
  2. Changes in the Budget Process No access
  3. Anatomy of the Deficit Reduction No access
  4. Reactions to External Pressures No access
  5. Conclusion No access
1. 1. Hyperactive Tax Legislation No access
  2. Tax Reform versus Political Reform No access
  3. The Cloak of Neutrality No access
  4. The Political Process Worked No access
2. 1. Ohira's Proposal No access
  2. Nakasone's Struggle No access
  3. Takeshita's Strategy No access
  4. Conclusion No access
1. 1. Rationales for Structural Policies No access
  2. Politics and Structural Policies No access
  3. Implications: Political Preconditions for Structural Policies No access
2. 1. The Historical Development of Structural Policies No access
  2. Research and Development No access
  3. Regulatory Policy No access
  4. Sectoral Subsidies and Infrastructural Investment No access
  5. Implications for the Future No access
3. 1. Industrialization and Government Initiative No access
  2. Structural Distortions No access
  3. Research and Development and Industrial Policy No access
  4. Structural Policies for Low-Productivity Industries No access
  5. Tokyo and Regional Development No access
  6. Politics and Structural Changes No access
1. 1. The Sources of Particularistic Economic Policy No access
  2. The Party System: The Roots of Particularism No access
  3. The Rationale for Executive Leadership No access
  4. Conclusion: The Palm Springs Rendezvous No access
Contributors No access Pages 379 - 380
Index No access Pages 381 - 390