My suspicion is that banks were compromised because of the large debts that they carried. However, because of the large domestic market, government bailouts, and the willingness of Japanese consumers to pay high prices and be "socially" sensitive to job protection in myriad forms banks are still not under the same kind of competitive pressure. One of my bank friends in Japan told me several times that Japanese banks do not have performance-based rewards, whereas multinational banks do. He has worked for both types.
anthony xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Anthony P. D'Costa, Professor Comparative International Development Abe Fellow (2005-06) University of Washington 1900 Commerce Street Tacoma, WA 98402, USA Phone: (253) 692-4462 Fax : (253) 692-5718 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx On Sun, 19 Mar 2006, Michael Perelman wrote:
Jacoby is usually very solid. Is he correct that Japan only made modest contributions to neoliberalism? I thought that the financial system was very compromised. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
