This paper examines the economic role of the merchant coalition (kabu nakama) in Japan during the the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth century in Japan. During this period public sector enforcement of contracts was imperfect. Kabu nakama substituted for the public sector, using a...

In this paper we will make clear the institutional framework and function of the foreign exchange allocation system in 1950's Japan. Until trade liberalization progressed in the first half of 1960's, MITI executed de facto import quota by means of this system, which generated substantial amount...

We examine the cause and effect of technology acquisition policy on firm performance, using firm-level data between 1957 and 1970. Our results indicate that in the technology acquisition licensing, the government screened a firm's application, based on (i) the industry that the firm belonged to...

This paper examines the boundaries of the internal labor markets in Mitsubishi Zaibatsu and the career paths of the employees of Mitsubishi Bank, using the employee lists of Mitsubishi Zaibatsu. The fact that a comprehensive employee list was compiled by the personal section of the holding...

In this paper, we explore the historical development of the organization of the Japanese cotton spinning industry, from an evolutionary perspective. We focus on how "fitness" factors, namely, exit (death) rate, entry (birth) rate, growth rate and conversion rate of cotton spinning firms worked...

This paper analyzes the role of merchant coalition (kabu-nakama)in 18th and early 19th Century Japan, from a standpoint of the historical institutional analysis (Greif [1997]). The quantitative economic history literature has made clear that sustainable economic growth based on a market economy...

The aim of this paper is to make clear the role of zaibatsu in the prewar Japanese economy. Especially, we focus on the organization and function of the holding companies of zaibatsu. By early twenties century, several family businesses had accumulated large amount of capital, and invested it to...

This is a draft of the textbook providing an introduction to economic history. Major targets of the book are senior undergraduate and master level graduate students. Unlike most of the textbooks in this area, it does not contain chronological history, but it covers several topics interesting...