The Japanese Main Bank System

This book provides a thorough empirical and theoretical analysis of the Japanese main bank system, and examines the relevance of the system for developing market economics and transforming socialist economies.

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BL Gives a definitive description and analysis of the main bank system
BL Strong contributors
BL Understudied subject
BL Incorporates results of a major World Bank research programme
BL Balances institutional description with financial theory and empirical analysis
This volume looks at systems of corporate finance, concentrating on the Japanese main bank system. The remaining chapters describe different systems, assessing to what extent the Japanese system can serve as a model for developing market economies and transforming socialist economies.

The basic characteristics of the main bank system are examined here, its roots, development, and its role in the heyday of its rapid growth. The volume looks at how the system has performed and at its strengths and weaknesses. It goes on to look at how the system has changed and what its approprate role is as deregulation, liberalization, and internationalization of Japan's financial markets have proceeded over the past two decades and a new issue securities market has emerged.

A basic conclusion of the book is that banking-based systems are in most cases the most appropriate for industrial financing until a rather late stage of a country's economic and financial development. It aims to identify the conditions under which banks are better able that securites market institutions to evaluate the credit worthiness of borrowers and the viability of new projects, to monitor the ongoing performance of firms, and to rescue or liquidate firms in distress.

Contributors: Masahiko Aoki, Theodor Baums, V.V.Bhatt, John Campbell, Yasushi Hamao, Toshihiro Horiuchi, Takeo Hoshi, Anil Kashyap, Dong-Wong Kim, Gary Loveman, Sang-Woo Nam, Frank Packer, Hugh Patrick, Yingyi Qian, Mark Ramseyer, Clark Reynolds, Satoshi Sunamura, Paul Sheard, Juro Teranishi, Kazuo Ueda,