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Rice Policy in Japan's Economic Development
Author(s) -
Hayami Yujiro
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1237730
Subject(s) - industrialisation , economics , per capita income , wage , promotion (chess) , per capita , agricultural economics , population growth , industrial policy , population , labour economics , market economy , political science , demography , sociology , politics , law
Until only a decade ago, Japan's rice policy had been primarily designed to procure “cheap” rice for the industrial population from domestic and colonial producers. For the promotion of industrialization and economic growth the price of rice, the principal wage good, had been kept low to prevent the rise in the wage rate of urban industrial workers. The shift from the traditional cheap rice policy to a recent policy of high price supports is due to the decline in the role of rice as a wage good. The rapid rise in per capita income and the dramatic transformation of Japan's industrial structure contributed to the policy change.