Western Economic Institutions

MONDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2006 (this page is maintained for historic purposes only)

Organised by: Asia-Pacific Technology Network and Asia Programme (Chatham House)
Supported by: Daiwa Anglo-Japan Foundation
Location: Chatham House, 10 St James' Square, London, SW1Y 4LE
Nearest Tube Station: Piccadilly Circus or Green Park
Time: 16.00 - 18.00
To register: please click here

Discussions to be led by:
Louis Turner, Chief Executive, Asia-Pacific Technology Network

This is a Research Seminar - that is a seminar which will be used in the preparation of a final report to be written over December 2006.

In the early 1990s, there was a lively debate in which it was argued that a relatively communitarian Asian model of capitalism was better suited to the region than the more individualistic and profit-driven AAnglo-American@ model. Japan=s post-Bubble deflationary decade, along with the damage done elsewhere in Asia by the 1997 Asian Crisis, meant that the claims for some superior Asian model looked less convincing. As Japan recovers, the impact of the Asian Crisis dies away, and the Chinese and Indian giants are growing impressively, it is time to come back to this debate.

The debate about competing capitalisms rests on vast over-generalisations about the prevalence of coherent capitalist cultures. With this caveat in mind, there is still a perception that Asian business cultures have been increasingly penetrated by economic institutions from the equity-driven cultures of the USA, UK and, to a lesser extent, the rest of Europe. To what extent is this perception true? To the extent that it is, how much influence have these institutions had – if any?

This project will look at a set of institutions or patterns of behaviour which seem emblematic of the AAnglo-American@ model and will test the extent to which they seem to have become increasingly accepted within the key business cultures found in Asia.

The goal is for Louis Turner to write a Chatham House research paper in December 2006, drawing on the proceedings from three Research Seminars of which this is the first. The sequence of topics is still being considered, but could well be as follows: Seminar 1: Monday 11 September
The Impact of Western Economic Institutions on Japan: What’s changed since the bursting of the Bubble Economy?

Seminar 2: Monday 18 October
“The spread and impact of “Western” Banks, Investment Banks, Venture Capitalists in Japan”

Seminar 3: Wednesday 1 November
“The spread and impact of “Western” Accountancy, Insurance and Broking companies in Japan”