The Political Economy of the Japanese Financial Big Bang: Institutional Change in Finance and Public Policymaking

Contents......Page 14
List of Figures......Page 17
List of Tables......Page 18
List of Abbreviations......Page 19
Change or Continuity?......Page 22
Research Puzzles......Page 28
Methodological Approach and Theoretical Framework......Page 31
Argument in Brief......Page 34
Structure of the Book......Page 39
Part I. Analytical Framework......Page 42
Three Contentious Issues in Japanese Politics......Page 44
Works on Japanese Financial Politics and the Big Bang......Page 54
The Study’s Methodological Approach and Research Design......Page 57
Possible Alternative Explanations......Page 63
Introduction of conceptual tools for institutional analysis......Page 67
A Theoretical Framework for Institutional Change......Page 72
The Dynamics of Organizational Survival......Page 79
State Actors (1)—Political Parties......Page 81
State Actors (2)—Bureaucratic Agencies......Page 84
Societal Actors (1)—Firms and Interest Groups......Page 89
Societal Actors (2)—The Public......Page 92
Institutions in Japanese Financial Politics (1)—Bureaupluralism in Public Policymaking......Page 96
Institutions in Japanese Financial Politics (2)—The Financial “Convoy”......Page 108
Scenarios of Financial Reform......Page 116
Background to the Big Bang Plan......Page 123
Basic Concepts of the Financial Big Bang Plan: Principles, Pace, and Sequence......Page 139
Concrete Policies Included in the Financial Big Bang......Page 142
Expected Economic Consequences of the Big Bang......Page 149
“Winners” and “Losers” of the Big Bang......Page 153
Conclusion......Page 168
Part II. Analysis of Financial Politics......Page 172
5 A Political Analysis of the Emergence of the Big Bang Initiative......Page 174
Balancing the Interests of Support Constituents and the General Public......Page 175
Who Brought about the Big Bang?......Page 177
Developments within MOF related to the “Big Bang”......Page 188
Developments within the LDP related to the Big Bang......Page 192
Summary: Who Brought about the Big Bang?......Page 197
Organizational Level Evaluation......Page 198
Integrating the Suborganizational and Organizational Levels of Analysis......Page 203
Assessment against Competing Explanations......Page 204
Conclusion......Page 208
6. The Financial Industry and the Big Bang......Page 210
Two political paths to economic reform......Page 211
Developments following the Prime Minister’s Initiative......Page 212
Summarizing the Narrative......Page 223
Three Previous Cases of Financial Reform......Page 227
Comparing the Financial Big Bang to Past Financial Reforms......Page 233
Why was the Financial Industry Unable to Stop the Big Bang?......Page 235
Conclusion: The Big Bang as a Victory by the “Political Winners”......Page 240
7. New Developments in Bureaupluralism: Comparing and Contrasting the Big Bang to the 1998 “Financial Diet”......Page 241
New Developments in Bureaupluralism emerging out of the Financial Big Bang......Page 242
Comparing and Contrasting the Big Bang with the Fall 1998 “Financial Diet”......Page 245
New Patterns in Financial Policymaking......Page 254
Public Support as a Determinant in Financial Politics......Page 255
Comparison with Alternative Explanations......Page 263
Conclusion......Page 268
Part III. The Meaning of Change......Page 270
8. Two Institutional Changes......Page 272
Review: Conceptualizing Institutions and Characteristics of Two Key institutions in Japanese Finance......Page 273
What Drives “Institutional Change”? Reexamining the Context of Japanese Financial Politics......Page 276
Relating the Big Bang to Broader Changes in Finance......Page 285
Institutional Change in Finance: Collapse of the Financial Convoy......Page 295
Institutional Change in Public Policymaking: The Decay of Bureaupluralism......Page 297
Conclusion......Page 304
9. Conclusion......Page 307
Insights into Regulatory Reform in Other Contexts......Page 311
Implications for Economic Reforms in Other Policy Areas......Page 312
Policy Implications......Page 325
Further Issues......Page 330
Appendix......Page 332
References......Page 333
B......Page 344
F......Page 345
I......Page 346
M......Page 347
S......Page 348
Z......Page 349