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

What The United States Can Learn From japanjapan and the four-spot Little Dragons in order to achieve theirindustrialization goals encounter a diverse set of policies ranging from limitedentitlement programs to a education and government bureaucracy that stressesachievement and meritocracy. But one of the most significant conceptions of lacquer and the Four Little Dragons is there industrial policy 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 see some of these industrial policies to help fosteremerging tall tech businesses and help lively U.S. business remain competitivewith East Asia.In Japan the government both during the Meiji period and the post WorldWar II period follow up oned a policy of active, sector selective industrial targeting.Japan utilise basically the same model during both historical periods. The Japanesegovernment 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 ancestry the development ofthese new industries. Following World War II Japanese industries used this samestrategic industrial policy to develop the high-tech, steel, and car industriesthat Japan is known for today. Some American industries are currently heavilysupported by the government through subsidies and tax breaks to farmers, steelproducers, and other industries that have been impairment by foreign 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policies of Japan and theFour Little Tigers instead of fostering new businesses and high tech industryit supports out of date and low tech firms who have political c lout. 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 primarily 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, there are several impediments to copying