We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
The Japanese and German Economies in the 20th and 21st Centuries Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 May 2022
INTRODUCTION
IN JAPAN, THERE are two types of pessimism on the future of the united Germany. One is as to the political integration of the united Germany in the wider Europe. For example, Kiichi Miyazawa, one of the faction leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party and one of the most intellectual politicians in contemporary Japan, recently expressed his doubts as to whether either the CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) or the EC (European Community) could control the stronger united Germany. He may have good reason to be anxious about the potential power of Germany. He, however, underestimates certain developments in Europe in the 1980s: the role of the CSCE after the collapse of the NATO-WTO system and the EC's function in the political integration of Europe. It may only reflect his own anxiety on Japan which has no equivalent organizations with the Asian countries.
The other type of pessimism concerns the economic integration of the eastern part of Germany into the united Germany, that is, the integration of the planned economy into the “social market economy”. It looks upon the deteriorating current indicators, such as the increasing number of bankruptcies and the rising rate of unemployment in Eastern Germany, as well as the increasing burden to the fiscal and monetary policy with fear. There is every reason to worry about failure in integrating the two different economic systems into one. It seems to me, however, that this type of pessimism also underestimates the developments in the 1980s and the socio-economic strength of the united Germany.
This paper aims at providing an optimistic prospect for the economic integration of the united Germany through a medium-range observation of a series of changes in the economic development of the two halves of Germany in the 1980s, especially those changes in industrial and firm-related conditions: industrial structure, the concentration of firms, industrial relations, ownership and management, and the attitude of business managers.
INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE
The West German economy, as most other industrial economies, has exhibited a tendency towards a maturing service society since the 1970s, showing a declining percentage of primary and secondary industries and a rising percentage of tertiary industries.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.