How Japan First Began to Export Machine-Made Manufactures to East Asia

Abstract:     
Drawing on late Meiji period data, the efforts of Japan's cotton spinning mills to overcome overseas competition and establish themselves in the Chinese, Korean and Hong Kong markets are examined. Estimating a probit model of the decision to export, it is found that despite readily available export finance and commercial networks that should have greatly lowered the costs of participating in East Asian markets, sunk entry costs still appear to have been quite large. Many otherwise capable mills apparently saw little prospect of entering tariff-less East Asian markets, notwithstanding the possibility of generous subsidies and trade association devised predatory strategies.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 10

JEL Classification: F14, N75, N85

Accepted Paper Series