Routledge Japan's Aid: Lessons for economic growth, development and political economy (Routledge Studies in the Modern World Economy)

In the twentieth century Japan emerged as one of the world’s leading economic powers: rising from wartime destruction to a leading economic engine in world markets. Japan’s economic aid policy, beginning with war reparations following its defeat in World War II, became a vehicle to help achieve this economic success. As the country continued to flourish, economic aid also became a means of expanding the country’s influence in an era of increasing globalization, providing an alternative strategy for helping developing nations escape the traps of poverty: a strategy drawn from its own experience of reemergence. And as we stand at the beginning of a new century, Japanese aid policy may also serve as a potential model for other nations who are on the cusp of entering high-income status and the group of elite world donors: a model that in many ways lies in contrast to policies espoused by other advanced Western nations. The book Japan’s Aid examines the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese aid policy in all of these dimensions: in fostering economic growth in both its own economic success story and in the numerous countries to which it has served as the single largest bilateral donor over many years; and as a policy that other nations might emulate. Through a combination of insightful case studies and rigorous econometric investigation, the book presents a comprehensive examination of the pros and cons of Japan’s aid. Review '...Japan's Aid provides an insightful overview into the various facets of Japanese development assistance and in doing so provides an interesting look into the current state of aid policies in major donor countries today. It is an excellent resource for students, researchers and, most importantly, policy makers interested in exploring a comparative approach on the subject, something unfortunately very few resources provide today.' ― Journal of Economics and Political Economy, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2014 'The DAC is also changing and has issued new regulations on how ODA is to be calculated in the future. This gives plenty of scope for providing bilateral loan aid among all its members. It proposes increased cooperation between public and private sources to assist development, something that Japan has been doing all along. According to the DAC, the focus should be on the poorest countries. This contrasts vividly with Japanese policy, which according to the new charter, believes that there is a great need for development assistance in middle-income countries―such as many of its Asian neighbours―as well. What I take with me from this book is that there are many models for foreign aid. The Japanese one, which may not have been the mainstream model, certainly has features that other donors are now also adopting.' ― Social Science Japan Journal, Volume 19, Issue 1, 2016 About the Author Edward M. Feasel is the Dean of Faculty and Professor of Economics at Soka University of America, USA. He received his bachelor in Economics from Yale University and completed his PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests are in economic outcomes and societal values, regional economic issues - Orange County Economy, economic growth, and effects of monetary and fiscal policy.