What The United States Can Learn From Japan :: essays research papers

What The United States Can Learn From JapanJapan and the Four scant(p) Dragons in order to achieve theirindustrialization goals have a divers(a) set of policies ranging from limitedentitlement programs to a education and government bureaucracy that stressesachievement and meritocracy. But one of the most significant innovations ofJapan and the Four Little Dragons is thither industrial indemnity which targetsimproving specific sectors of the economy by focusing R&D, subsidies, and taxincentives to specific industries that the government wants to promote. TheUnited States could adopt some of these industrial policies to help fosteremerging high tech businesses and help existing U.S. business remain competitivewith East Asia.In Japan the government some(prenominal) during the Meiji full point and the post WorldWar II period followed a policy of active, sector selective industrial targeting.Japan used basically the homogeneous model during both historical periods. The Japanesegove rnment would focus its tax incentive programs, subsidies, and R&D on what itsaw as emerging industries. During the Meiji period Japan focused its attentionon emulating western technology such as trains, steel production, and textiles.The Meiji leaders took taxes levied on agriculture to fund the development ofthese red-hot industries. Following World War II Japanese industries used this same strategical industrial policy to develop the high-tech, steel, and car industriesthat Japan is known for today. some American industries are authoritatively heavilysupported by the government through subsidies and tax breaks to farmers, steelproducers, and other industries that have been hurt by distant competitionbecause they are predominantly low-tech industries. But this economic policy ofthe U.S. is almost a complete reversal of the economic policies of Japan and theFour Little Tigers instead of fostering new businesses and high tech industryit supports out of date and low tech firms who have political clout. Theexisting economic policy of the United States fails to help high tech businessesdevelop a competitive advantage on the world market instead it stagnatesinnovation by providing incentives in general to existing business. The structureof U.S. industrial policy like the structure of an advance welfare state hasemphasized rewarding powerful lobbying groups and has not targeted emergingsectors of the economy. The current U.S. industrial policy is a distributionstrategy and not a development strategy.Instead of this ad-hoc industrial policy the United States should followJapans model of strategic targeting of emerging technology. The U.S. instead ofpouring its money into subsidies and tax breaks for failing low-tech industriesshould provide loans, subsidies and R&D money for firms that are producing hightechnology products. Unfortunately, thither are several impediments to copying