Studies in Economic History

This book presents the history of the British Empire as the “Bridge” for creating a Global History, especially emphasizing its connections with Asian regions. The United Kingdom ruled most of the world in the nineteenth century. Its influence spread around the globe in various forms – in the white settlements such as those in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (Dominions), in Asian and African regions represented by present-day India, in colonies acquired by military force (Dependencies), and in other regions under its economic influence through trade and investment (the informal empire). Thus, the British Empire played a key role in nineteenth-century globalization.

There are many books on the British Empire in English. However, no books from Asian perspectives have interpreted it as “the means used by Asian countries for their own economic development” (and as providers of “international public goods”). Along with the East Asian economic resurgence, the weight of the global system and the world economy has now largely shifted from the Atlantic world to the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing India, as well as the Pacific coast of the United States. The global depression in 2008 accelerated this trend. We now face the task of building a new interpretation of world history with a clearer understanding of this upheaval. Redrawing world history is not an easy task but a good starting point would be to analyze the mutual relationship between the British Empire and the Asian regions, and this can be done by interpreting the historical significance of the British Empire.

Japanese society believes they enjoy socio-economic equality. While industrialization tends to make gap between rich and poor, most of Japanese are proud of themselves as being middle class in the first Asian industrialized country. In fact, post WW2 Japanese economic miracle made Japan rich and equalized. High personal saving ratio supported the economic development in those days as if it’s a proof of Rostow’s take-off model. Japanese saving rate had jumped high level around the beginning of 20th century, which was the time of their industrialization taking place.

 This book shows the savings was not only rich’s accumulation of wealth but ordinary citizen’s daily spares. The spare money helped whole nation’s economic development, especially supported relatively small farmers and self-employed workers. The personal small savings became huge funds for the basis of modern Japanese micro-credit and emergency bailout loan. Postal Savings Bank and nationwide cooperatives played the role in managing. This financial network was independent from ordinary financial system composed of private banks and securities market, and complement its function. The personal small savings funds in Japanese economy saved its society from various type of calamity and supported economic equalization as alternative financial system which acted as Not-for-Profit enterprises.