Commercial Culture, Political Culture and the Political Economy of Trade Policy: The Case of Japan

30 Pages Posted: 21 Mar 2001

See all articles by Seiichi Katayama

Seiichi Katayama

Kobe University

Heinrich W. Ursprung

University of Konstanz; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Date Written: July 2000

Abstract

In this paper we present a model of endogenous trade-policy formation which captures crucial aspects of the Japanese commercial and political culture. We analyze the influence of the portrayed cultural traits and show that cultural idiosyncrasies are important determinants of trade policy formation; especially the complex interaction of the two types of cultures is shown to have significant consequence for the policy outcome. Contrasting our model's behavior with the stylized facts of Japanese politics, we arrive at the conclusion that the model's behavior is compatible with the observed (trade) policy positions held by Japanese politicians over the last fifty years.

JEL Classification: A13, D23, D72, F13

Suggested Citation

Katayama, Seiichi and Ursprung, Heinrich, Commercial Culture, Political Culture and the Political Economy of Trade Policy: The Case of Japan (July 2000). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=263517 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.263517

Seiichi Katayama

Kobe University ( email )

2-1, Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku
2 Rokkodai
Kobe, 657-8501
Japan
(81) 78-803-0402 (Phone)
(81) 78-861-6434 (Fax)

Heinrich Ursprung (Contact Author)

University of Konstanz ( email )

Konstanz, D-78457
Germany
+49 7531 88 3713 (Phone)

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

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