Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-1994

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Political Science

Major Professor

Robert L. Peterson

Committee Members

Iredell, Jensen, Cole, Richardson

Abstract

This research is an attempt to study the relationship between the Japanese and the American automobile industries as an example of dependent dynamism between two developed capitalist countries. More specifically, I will attempt to legitimize the emerging research question by showing that whereas this line of work cannot be seen as deriving from a neo-Marxist perspective, it can be regarded as an evolution, and not misuse, of the concept of "dependent dynamism" provided one observes the history (especially the origins) of the dependency-related literature. This dissertation extends the usual dependency concern with multinational corporations and associated issues such as retention of control over technology, and relevant trade issues to within core relations. If a reciprocal trade relationship exists, does one nation maintain systematic supremacy over relevant technological and manufacturing skills? To provide a sound theoretical basis for an explanation of how a competitive lag has emerged in this industry and how it has come to configure a dependent dynamic situation is the intent of this project. The empirical impact of these changes will be partially assessed through the use of a pooled cross-sectional/time series model. This study analyzes the history of the change in industrial leadership from the U.S.A. to Japan from the Postwar period to date, and demonstrates how the social basis of economic institutions has exerted a preponderant influence on this process of economic transformation. It is argued that the structure of the state and its relationship with business enterprises — what is referred to here as "state-societal arrangements" — are central to understanding the dynamics of this transition. The study then shows the economic advantages attained by the Japanese through the use of "calculated protectionism," a form of managed trade that makes the use of strategically aware administrative guidance designed to improve the competitiveness of national industries which are characterized as being competitive followers. The strategic awareness revealed by this policy becomes then an essential requirement for the Import Management in support of Continuous Improvement Evolution (IMCIE) policy proposal earlier indicated in this dissertation. Although ECLA's Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) model is of considerable value in providing the theoretical and methodological framework used to understand the current nature of the competition between the U.S. and the Japanese auto industry, major modifications were made to accommodate the historical and geographical particularities of this new form of dependent dynamism. These included a reconceptualization of the production structures on both sides of the relationship, and a new assessment of the role that institutions have had on the history of industrial evolution in the past four decades. Thus, in lieu of proposing a mere ISI program — which would certainly prove to be inadequate in this new within center context — IMCIE becomes the "catching up" strategy suited to the new kind of competitive challenge advanced by continuous improvement production system.

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