Abstract
Why didn't the Japanese miracle take place before World War II? The culprit we identify is a barrier that kept prewar agricultural employment constant. Using a standard neoclassical two-sector growth model, we show that the barrier-induced sectoral distortion and an ensuring lack of capital accumulation account well for the depressed output level. Without the barrier, Japan's prewar GNP per worker would have been at least about a half of that of the United States, not about a third as in the data. The labor barrier existed because, we argue, the prewar patriarchy forced the son designated as heir to stay in agriculture.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 573-632 |
| Number of pages | 60 |
| Journal | Journal of Political Economy |
| Volume | 116 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2008 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Economics and Econometrics
Cite this
The depressing effect of agricultural institutions on the prewar japanese economy. / Hayashi, Fumio; Prescott, Edward.
In: Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 116, No. 4, 08.2008, p. 573-632.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The depressing effect of agricultural institutions on the prewar japanese economy
AU - Hayashi, Fumio
AU - Prescott, Edward
PY - 2008/8
Y1 - 2008/8
N2 - Why didn't the Japanese miracle take place before World War II? The culprit we identify is a barrier that kept prewar agricultural employment constant. Using a standard neoclassical two-sector growth model, we show that the barrier-induced sectoral distortion and an ensuring lack of capital accumulation account well for the depressed output level. Without the barrier, Japan's prewar GNP per worker would have been at least about a half of that of the United States, not about a third as in the data. The labor barrier existed because, we argue, the prewar patriarchy forced the son designated as heir to stay in agriculture.
AB - Why didn't the Japanese miracle take place before World War II? The culprit we identify is a barrier that kept prewar agricultural employment constant. Using a standard neoclassical two-sector growth model, we show that the barrier-induced sectoral distortion and an ensuring lack of capital accumulation account well for the depressed output level. Without the barrier, Japan's prewar GNP per worker would have been at least about a half of that of the United States, not about a third as in the data. The labor barrier existed because, we argue, the prewar patriarchy forced the son designated as heir to stay in agriculture.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=51949119184&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=51949119184&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/591804
DO - 10.1086/591804
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:51949119184
VL - 116
SP - 573
EP - 632
JO - Journal of Political Economy
JF - Journal of Political Economy
SN - 0022-3808
IS - 4
ER -