Comparative Research On Economic Growth And Industrial Structure Evolution Of China And Japan

Although the path of development in China and Japan is different, but the government-led economic development model adopted by two countries has many similarities, the two countries have all achieved the results of rapid economic growth and accomplish the evolution and development of industrial structure in the form of government domination. Under the conditions of having different initial conditions, different institution background and different external environment between two countries, it is worth exploring of how two countries to achieve the industry evolution and rapid economic growth.Japan has become the world’s second largest economy within 30 years after World War Ⅱ, its economic development model has also been called "Japanese model". In the process of Japan’s economic growth, the government-led industrial policy has played great role, through the interaction of government intervention and market mechanism, Japan has achieved the upgrading of the industrial structure and successfully passed through the oil crisis which led to the world economic depression. In this process, Japan’s industrial structure evolution and rapid economic growth accelerated and promoted each other. From the end of 1980s, due to the slow transformation of the industrial structure of Japan, in addition to the government misjudged the cause of the overheating of the economy, and thus took the false intervention policy, Japanese economic growth shifted from high-speed to stagnation. Due to the combined effect of the above-mentioned factors and the change of Japan’s population and labor structure, Japan missed the opportunity to economic transition and fell into the mire of economic downturn which can’t be get rid of. As Japan’s economic bubble burst, Japan’s industrial structure evolution has been basically stagnant, and also lost the promoting effect on economic growth.After 1978, China’s rapid economic growth has continued for nearly 30 years, which mainly due to the interaction of the economic system reform and industrial structure change. Agricultural economic system reform made a large number of rural surplus labor force enter industry and service industry, the market economic system ensured that the resources flow to the high efficiency production department, China’s low-cost labor advantage get into full play, and the industrial structure of achieved transformation and upgrading. However, with the rapid economic growth, the accumulated and exposed structural problems also begun to emerge, which mainly appeared as the weak effect of demand-pull in economic growth, the urban-rural and regional economic development imbalance and other issues.For the doubt of China’s economy stepping into long-term stagnation as well as Japan has experienced, we can find useful answers from comparative analysis of Japan and China’s progress of rapid economic growth tending to stable economic growth. The problems of industrial structure, structure of labor force and government intervention which Japan has ever met with were successively appeared in China’s economic growth; China can avoid the experience that Japan has suffered by analyzing and studying the above-mentioned problems’ impact on Japan’s economic growth.This paper adopts the method of combining normative analysis and empirical analysis, attempt to fully understand the relationship between the evolution of industrial structure and economic growth of China and Japan by working through the comparative analysis to China and Japan’s industry evolution path, industrial policy, industry evolution performance.This paper consists of eight chapters. Where:Chapter 1 is an introduction, including the issue revealing, the meaning of economic growth and industrial structure, the literature review, the significance of this research, methods and innovation, and the structure of the paper.Chapter 2 establishes the theoretical framework of economic growth and development, and reviews the domestic and international theory of economic growth and the evolution of industrial structure at home and abroad. This part analyzes the relationship between economic growth and industrial structure evolution, and the interaction mechanism between economic growth and industrial structure change is explained.Chapter 3 studies the process and characteristics of the evolution of industrial structure in the process of economic growth in China and Japan. Following the path of economic development of the two countries, this chapter makes the comparative analysis of the two countries’ paths of the industry evolution in the economic growth. It is discussed in detail for the difference of the initial conditions, the institutional factors, the external environment and the speed of the industry evolution between the two countries.Chapter 4 studies the contribution of industrial policy and industry evolution to the economic growth of China and Japan. This study focuses on the differences of industrial policies in different periods of the two countries, how industrial policies affect the industry evolution path and the impact on the performance of the two countries’ economic growth.Chapter 5 makes an empirical test on the relationship between industrial structure change and economic growth in China and Japan.Chapter 6 studies the reason of rapid economic growth to stable growth and the path direction of industry replacement in China and Japan. It shows the key problem that two countries should focus on in solving the problem of the industrial structure transformation and upgrading and economic growth.Chapter 7 studies the experiences and lessons learned from Japan’s economic growth, and puts forward the problems that should be solved and the ideas and directions that should be followed in China’s economic growth.