Political Economy & Development—Japan Flashcards
Whenever a Japanese government agency provides guidance and direction to private organizations, there is a firm level of transparency. True or False
False
The relationships among keiretsu member firms have been regarded as collusive and harmful to free trade by some of Japan’s principal trading partners. True or False
True
The growth of the Japanese economy in the late 1950s through the early 1970s was an economic miracle. True or False
True
In spite of the worldwide economic depression of the 1930s, the Japanese economy recovered quickly and by 1941 was one of the world’s fastest-growing and most competitive economies. True or False
True
The Korean War of the 1950s and the Vietnam War of the 1960s were highly beneficial for the Japanese economy. True or False
True
Although the United States assisted Japan’s political and economic recovery after WWII, when it came to admission to international bodies, like the UN, the GATT, and IMF, America opposed it for strategic reasons. True or False
False
During the Meiji Restoration Japan applied laissez faire policies to develop the modern Japanese economy limiting the government’s role. True or False
False
Once the occupation ended, under its refined and expanded industrial policy, the Japanese government provided investment funds, tax breaks, foreign exchange, and foreign technologies to targeted strategic industries. True or False
True
One area where the Japanese government promotes a non-protectionist policy is agriculture, especially rice production. True or False
False
The Japanese government set up a Financial Services Agency in 2001 to help banks and securities firms rid themselves of bad loans and mediated a series of bank mergers that have successfully lifted Japan out of the recession. True or False
True
In the U.S., American women earn about 70 cents to every dollar that men earn whereas in Japan it is nearly equal. True or False
False
Until recently, thanks to a relatively egalitarian pattern of income distribution most Japanese regarded themselves as members of the “middle class,” that is, economically as well off as most other Japanese. True or False
True
Japan’s rate of relative poverty has risen to one of the highest levels among OECD member states since the mid-2000s. True or False
True
Japan’s social welfare system is relatively highly developed compared to its counterparts in most Western nations. True or False
False
Similar to the U.S. Constitution, the 1947 Japanese Constitution has avoided any language mandating a national social welfare system. True or False
False
Since the 1960s, the export-led development strategy that Japan followed has also been applied by the newly industrialized countries (NICs) in East Asia. True or False
True
In response to criticism from the West of Japan establishing unfair trade policies, the latter has removed or significantly reduced the tariff and nontariff import barriers and abandoned most of the alleged predatory trade practices. True or False
True
Japan’s income from foreign direct investment (FDI) has been larger than its trade account surplus since 2004. True or False
True
Informal prescription, usually not based on statute or formal regulation, that is given by a government agency, such as a ministry and its subdivisions, to a private organization, such as a firm or a lower-level government: a) public policy directives, b) government initiatives, c) administrative guidance, d) social obligation.
c) administrative guidance
A group of closely allied Japanese firms that have preferential trading relationships and often interlocking directorates and stock-sharing arrangements: a) unichiro, b) keiretsu, c) fukushito, d) taishebo.
b) keiretsu
The following are considered to be “newly industrialized countries (NICs): a) Ghana, Israel, Pakistan, b) Argentina, Morocco, Haiti, c) Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, d) Brazil, Malaysia, South Korea.
d) Brazil, Malaysia, South Korea
Which of the following is NOT a “nontariff barrier” (NTB)? a) slapping a tax on imported foreign cars, b) establishing quotas for imported liquor, c) establishing health and safety standards for foreign-made food imports, d) creating complicated and cumbersome labeling practices.
a) slapping a tax on imported foreign cars
Unlike most other industrial nations of the period, Japan recovered remarkably quickly from the worst effects of the Great Depression during the 1930s because of: a) vast government expenditures, primarily for the military, b) shifting its economic strategy to focus on a domestic market, c) providing subsidies to its agrarian sector to stave off serious socio-economic ills, d) diversifying its economy to assure greater independence from external forces.
a) vast government expenditures, primarily for the military
The Sino-Japanese War (1894-1905) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) contributed most significantly to the growth of: a) a consumer’s industry, b) heavy industry, c) agriculture, d) the banking industry.
b) heavy industry
In the early 1930s, how much of Japan’s government budget was devoted to its military? A) 10%, b) 16%, c) 33%, d) 55%
c) 33%
Due to the emerging Cold War after 1948, what were the primary objectives of the occupation of both Japan and Germany by the U.S.? a) total demilitarization & democratization, b) minimal demilitarization & slow, but gradual economic recovery, c) swift economic recovery & incorporation into a U.S.-led anticommunist alliance, d) war reparations & total demilitarization.
c) swift economic recovery & incorporation into a U.S.-led anticommunist alliance
Who spearheaded the rapid expansion of the Japanese economy during the latter part of the nineteenth century and the first forty years of the twentieth century? a) the state bureaucracy, b) zaibatsu conglomerates, c) the banking industry, d) the military
b) zaibatsu conglomerates
In response to the dollar’s depreciation as a result of the Plaza Accord, what was the initial reaction in Japan? a) tariff and non-tariff barriers were reinforced, b) flooded the international markets with exports, c) the policy of subsidizing favored industries was stopped, d) the Bank of Japan drastically cut interest rates, generating a hyperinflation.
d) the Bank of Japan drastically cut interest rates, generating a hyperinflation.
The private industrial sector of the Japanese economy is characterized by interdependence and networking among a small number of giant firms, on the one hand, and a vast number of small firms, on the other known as: a) hatishu, b) taishito, c) keiretsu, d) moshibo.
c) keiretsu
What percent of the Japanese labor force is represented by women? a) 29% b) 36%, c) 41%, d) 50%
d) 50%
According to the International Labor Organization, Japanese women made up what percent of Japanese legislators, senior government officials, and company managers in 2008? a) 9%, b) 16%, c) 21% , d) 32%
a) 9%
What conditions existed that prevented Japan from fully developing its economic capabilities prior to its defeat in World War II, according to Kesselman, et.al.?
a) The prewar Japanese economy had been hobbled with a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ problem that impeded \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and development. b) There was grossly \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ distribution of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and \_\_\_\_\_\_\_, resulting in widespread poverty, generating social tensions. c) Such conditions prevented the formation of a sufficiently large \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ market for Japanese manufacturers.
a) structural, growth
b) uneven, income, wealth
c) domestic
After World War II, what occupational reforms prepared Japan for vast expansion of its middle class and its domestic consumer markets?
a) the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ of zaibatsu conglomerates, b) the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ of well over \_\_\_\_\_ of Japan’s urban workers, c) and extensive \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_ reforms.
a) Dissolution
b) unionization, half
c) agricultural land
How did the United States help Japan rebuild its economy?
a) by providing aid, including \_\_\_\_\_, worth about $1.8 billion. b) by helping the Japanese government overcome postwar economic chaos, especially rampant \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, c) by balancing the government budget, raising taxes, imposing \_\_\_\_\_\_ and \_\_\_\_\_ freezes, d) and resuming limited \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_.
a) food
b) inflation
c) price, wage
d) foreign trade
Each keiretsu is:
a) composed of a major \_\_\_\_\_ b) and several large \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, trading, shipping, construction, and insurance companies that are of comparable size and \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ linked with one another. c) There are also more than a dozen similar but vertically linked keiretsu, that provide a company with most of what is needed to produce its \_\_\_\_\_ products.
a) Bank
b) manufacturing, horizontally
c) final
Following the 1868 Meiji Restoration Japan pursued rapid industrialization,
a) initially by exporting relatively \_\_\_\_\_\_ products of \_\_\_\_\_\_-intensive industries, such as textiles, b) and then increasingly \_\_\_\_\_\_\_-\_\_\_\_\_\_-added products of more \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_-intensive industries, including iron and steel, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, and machinery.
a) cheap, labor
b) higher, value, capital, shipbuilding
