This study focuses on the evolution of the Japanese economy and gives an account of the country's attempts to generate the social capacity for technological innovation and absorption. It features case studies written by acknowledged experts, and concludes with a summary of useful lessons.

Economic progress requires technological development, which in turn depends on a country's social capacity to acquire, assimilate, and develop new technologies. Focusing on the evolution of Japan's economy from the Meiji Restoration to the present day, this volume provides an authoritative account, firmly grounded in theoretical and empirical analysis, of the country's attempts to generate the necessary social capacity for technological innovation and absorption. Successive chapters address the specific experiences of a number of key Japanese industries during this process. Each industrial case study is written by an acknowledged expert in the field and presents material of significant interest to specialists in economic development in a form that is also accessible to the nonspecialist. The book concludes with a summary of useful lessons, variously applicable to countries at all the different stages of industrialization.

Preface - Introduction - Japanese Experience in Technologies: A Survey
R.Minami, K.S.Kim, F.Makino &
J-h.Seo - PART 1: CHOICE AND ADAPTATION OF TECHNOLOGY - The Development of Appropriate Technologies for Export Promotion in the Silk-Reeling Industry
R.Minami &
F.Makino - Mechanism of the Diffusion of Technologies: Case Study of the Cotton-Weaving Industry
R.Minami &
F.Makino - Technology Choice in the Cotton-Spinning Industry: The Switch from Mules to Ring Frame
Y.Kiyokawa - Choice of Technologies in the Ship-Building Industry: Modern v Traditional
K.Otsuka - The Development of the Farm Machinery Industry: Case Study of the Walking-Type Tractor
T.Kako - PART 2: R&
D, INNOVATION, AND INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION - The Dynamics of Innovation and Learning-by-Doing: The Case of the Integrated Circuit Industry
A.Sakuma - Organizational Innovation and Development of the Sewing Machine Industry
S.Hondai - Technological Innovation in the Steel Industry: Recognizing Potential in Innovation
S.Yonekura - An International Comparison of Productivity and Product Development Performance in the Auto Industry
T.Fujimoto &
A.Takeishi - R&
D Competition and Innovation in the VCR Industry
J-h.Seo - Japanese Technology and Industrial Development in Thailand: The Experience of the Synthetic Fiber Industry
T.van Tho - CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS - Lessons Form the Japanese Experience
R.Minami, K.S.Kim, F.Makino &
J-h.Seo - Index