Information technology and the Japanese economy

In this paper we compare sources of economic growth in Japan and the United States from 1975 through 2003, focusing on the role of information technology (IT). We have adjusted Japanese data to conform to US definitions in order to provide a rigorous comparison between the two economies. The adjusted data show that the share of the Japanese gross domestic product devoted to investment in computers, telecommunications equipment, and software rose sharply after 1995. The contribution of total factor productivity growth from the IT sector in Japan also increased, while the contributions of labor input and productivity growth from the non-IT sector lagged far behind the United States. Our projection of potential economic growth in Japan from for the next decade is substantially below that in the United States, mainly due to slower growth of labor input. Our projections of labor productivity growth in the two economies are much more similar. J. Japanese Int. Economies 19 (4) (2005) 460–481.     

De ontwerpen-Talma tot regeling der ztekteverzekering

Door ongesteldheid van den schrijver is de verschijning van dit artikel vertraagd. Red.     

Een terugblik op Mr. N. G. Pierson

Summary Dr. Holtrop's address on the occasion of the award of the Dr. N. G. Pierson medal to Professor C. Goedhart and to Professor G. A. Kessler answers the question why it is still meaningful to commemorate Dr. N. G. Pierson (1839–1909), the foremost Dutch economist of the 19th century. Pierson was successively a managing director and later governor of the Nederlandsche Bank (1868–1891), a professor of economics (1877–1886), a minister of finance (1891–1894 and 1897–1901) and a prime-minister (1897–1901). A brief outline is given of Pierson's publications in the fields of (1) methodology, (2) the social problem, (3) the international monetary system, and (4) equitable taxation. The address concludes with a quotation from Alfred Marshall's last letter to Pierson.

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Oud-president van de Nederlandsche Bank.

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Tekst van een toespraak, gehouden als voorzitter van de Stichting Mr. N. G. Pierson Fonds, ter gelegenheid van de uitreiking der Mr. N. G. Pierson-penning aan Prof. dr. C. Goedhart en aan Prof. dr. G. A. Kessler op 15 september 1978 in het gebouw van De Nederlandsche Bank te Amsterdam. De inleiding van de toespraak is enigszins verkort weergegeven.