S1211 Economic Development: Lessons from Japan (S1211)

This course is designed to give students an opportunity to study economic development through the Japanese experience. The course will focus on the historical development of the Japanese economy and industry from the "Edo" era to the current "earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis" era. The course encompasses both empirical and theoretical analysis of the process of economic growth.

Japan experienced the burst of the asset-inflated"bubble" economy from 1991 to 2002 and USA also had the burst of housing bubble in 2008 that has triggered off financial crisis on a global scale. Japan lost its No.2 position to China in 2010. In addition, a magnitude 9 earthquake hit the northern part of Japan on March 11, 2011, which generated a tsunami, crippling nuclear power plants. Japan's economy contracted sharply in the first quarter of 2011, re-entering recession.

 

Today Japan faces many economic challenges from financing reconstruction projects to reducing huge government debt. If the Japanese can keep their traditional tenacity and technical capability, there are hopes of revival as the reconstruction effort stimulates the economy. As Sir Winston Churchill said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity: an optimist sees the opportunity in the difficulty." In this course, we will draw practical lessons from the Japanese experience to deepen a better understanding of economic and industrial issues in the global community.