Description
This book critically evaluates the salient features of Japanese relation-based banking and the Anglo-American mode of banking to explain the nature and extent of transition failure that caused a prolonged financial and economic slump in Japan. Taking an institutional perspective, it shows how the new institutional settings made the credit monitoring and supervision mechanisms ineffective letting the financial system become fragile due to both country specific characteristics and inherent limitations in the new institutional settings. In doing so, the book blends various theoretical perspectives and sheds light on Japan’s informal institutions as well. The discussions are rich in analytical interpretation and empirical evidence, portraying a comprehensive picture of the traditional as well as the contemporary financial system in Japan. It concludes with a set of lessons to be learned from Japan’s experience that will help future financial reforms elsewhere as well as in Japan.
