
Parallel Politics
Economic Policymaking in Japan and the United States
Samuel Kernell(Editor)
Brookings Institution (Publisher)
Published on 1. April 1991
Book
Paperback/Softback
406 pages
978-0-8157-4891-5 (ISBN)
Description
While much has been written about economic competition between the United States and Japan, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that their relationship is founded essentially on each sides' domestic political concerns. Many critics have concluded that to gain a new equilibrium in relations, the two counties must develop a sophisticated appreciation of each other's political dynamics. Because budgets, taxes and macroeconomic policy are so central to activities of both governments, this book, by Japanese and American experts, focuses on the role of political institutions in formulating economic policy. Despite the differences in the two counties political systems?one-party/parliamentary versus two-party/presidential?there are striking similarities in the way politics is transacted in Japan and the United States. In particular, politicians in both countries are motivated primarily by the desire to serve local constituencies, which leads to overly parochial public policies. Combining case studies and discussions, the contributors provide an overview of the Japanese and American political systems, particularly those aspects that are most relevant to economic policymaking. In addition, they offer a comparative analysis of the politics of budgeting, tax reform, and structural policies
Reviews / Votes
"Parallel Politics pulls together a timely and ambitious set of essays that succeed in clarifying domestic policy processes of the U.S. and Japan....As the U.S.-Japanese relationships enters increasingly uncertain times, American readers will find Parallel Politics an informative guide to policymaking Japan-style." -Thomas Omestead, Foreign Policy|"This book shows vividly how particularism -fragmented interest-group politics -has influenced economic policy in both the U.S. and Japan. After Samuel Kernell's book, distilling economic policy from the politics underlying it will be like palm-reading: still widely practiced, but rarely believed." -Shlomo Maital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
657 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8157-4891-5 (9780815748915)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2010
1st Edition
Brookings Institution
€22.99
Available for download

E-Book
12/2010
Bloomsbury eBooks US
€22.99
Available for download
Person
Samuel Kernell is professor of political science at the University of California at San Diego and a former senior fellow in the Brookings Governmental Studies program.