Japan's Fiscal Crisis
The Ministry of Finance and the Politics of Public Spending, 1975-2000
Published on 4. April 2002
Book
Hardback
648 pages
978-0-19-925053-0 (ISBN)
Description
This controversial and authoritative account of budget-making and budgetary politics, the author traces the origins and development of Japan's present crisis. In a detailed analysis of the institutions, structures, and processes of central government, the author explains how decisions were made about how much to spend and on what in the central budget and the Fiscal and Investment Loan Programme - the so-called 'second budget'. Wright shows who and what won and lost and why, explains the informal policy and behavioral rules-of-the-game by which the conduct of the main players was regulated, and compares Japan's fiscal performance with the UK and other G7 countries.
It challenges the orthodoxy that a dominant and dominating Ministry of Finance (MOF) implemented tough policies of retrenchment in the 1980s. The appearance of fiscal discipline was not matched by the reality of too much spending, too few revenues, and heavy borrowing. MOF not only failed to restore a balanced budget, it was unable to achieve most of its short and long-term fiscal objectives during the last quarter of the 20th Century.
Unravelling the complexity and opacity of the budgetary system, the author shows how MOF officials exploited it to foster an illusion of control. Through adroit manipulation of off-budget sources, and by fiscal sleight-of-hand, MOF was able to deliver an expanding supply of budget benefits to the ruling Liberal Democratic party, and the means to finance the growth and maintenance of a 'Public Works State'.
It challenges the orthodoxy that a dominant and dominating Ministry of Finance (MOF) implemented tough policies of retrenchment in the 1980s. The appearance of fiscal discipline was not matched by the reality of too much spending, too few revenues, and heavy borrowing. MOF not only failed to restore a balanced budget, it was unable to achieve most of its short and long-term fiscal objectives during the last quarter of the 20th Century.
Unravelling the complexity and opacity of the budgetary system, the author shows how MOF officials exploited it to foster an illusion of control. Through adroit manipulation of off-budget sources, and by fiscal sleight-of-hand, MOF was able to deliver an expanding supply of budget benefits to the ruling Liberal Democratic party, and the means to finance the growth and maintenance of a 'Public Works State'.
Reviews / Votes
... represents a major advance both in understanding of Japan's postwar economic history and in the potential for comparative analysis of the rise and (apparent?) fall of one of the world's most significant economic institutions. * The Economic History Review * ... an institutional portrait of immense depth and detail, based on unrivalled access to Japanese sources. * The Economic History Review * ... much more than just a history of the MOF's inability to find a way to solve the fiscal crisis. * The Economic History Review *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
numerous tables and figures
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 39 mm
Weight
1127 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-925053-0 (9780199250530)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
1. Introduction ; 2. The Origins of the Fiscal Crisis ; PART I: THE CONTEXT OF JAPANESE BUDGETING ; 3. The Politico-Economic Context ; 4. Administrative Reform ; 5. Politicians and Bureaucrats in the Policy-making Processes ; PART II: INSTITUTIONS, STRUCTURES AND ACTORS ; 6. The Spending Ministries and Agencies ; 7. Ministerial Autonomy and Territorial Boundaries: Co-ordination, Competition and Conflict in the Policy-making Processes ; 8. The Ministry of Finance ; 9. MOF's Elite Administrators ; 10. The LDP's Policy-making Structures ; 11. Budget Institutions and Structures ; 12. The 'Second Budget': The Fiscal Investment Loan Programme ; PART III: INTERACTIONS ; 13. Budget Objectives and Policies ; 14. Economic Forecasts and Fiscal Projections ; 15. Budget Strategy, Guidelines and Ceilings ; 16. The Budget Processes in the Spending Ministries ; 17. The Budget Bureau's Hearings, Examination and Negotiations ; 18. Rules-of-the-Game: Managing Relations with the Spending Ministries ; 19. Making the FILP Budget ; 20. The Role and Influence of the LDP in the Budgetary Processes ; PART IV: THE OUTPUTS OF THE BUDGETARY PROCESSES ; 21. Who Wins, Who Loses? ; 22. Cuts and Squeezes in the Bureaucracy ; 23. A 'Public Works State' ; 24. Winning and Losing in the FILP Budget ; PART V: EFFECTS AND EFFECTIVENESS ; 25. Fiscal Reconstruction: 'Smoke and Mirrors' ; 26. Deficits and Debts ; 27. Japan's Fiscal Performance in an International Context ; 28. FILP Under Stress ; 29. Coping with Fiscal Stress ; 30. Budget Institutions, Deficits and Debts