Predicting outcomes in United States-Japan trade negotiations : the political process of the structural impediments initiative

Bibliographic Information

Predicting outcomes in United States-Japan trade negotiations : the political process of the structural impediments initiative

Norio Naka

Quorum, 1996

Available at  / 22 libraries

Search this Book/Journal

Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [239]-255) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

The U.S.-Japan Structural Impediments Initiative (SII) was an attempt in which U.S. and Japanese officials tried to solve trade frictions and adjust their economic systems both by creating an international epistemic community and regime and by accelerating domestic structural change through a joint bureaucratic structure (working group) and mutual pressure. With four multidimensionally-layered conceptual models, the book systematically describes and explains the political process of the SII, the reasons for its initiation and reaching agreements. Unlike most studies on U.S.-Japan trade negotiations which use the theoretically undefined case study method, the author tested propositions focussing on different factors (level of U.S. pressure, size and strength of various transgovernmental coalitions, and level of perception gaps) for different degrees of Japanese trade concessions across five SII issue areas (saving-investment patterns, the distribution system, exclusionary business practices, land policy, and keiretsu) by combining a detailed case study with content analysis of newspaper indexes and meeting records. The book adds to the tradition of U.S.-Japan trade negotiation/decision-making research with great insights and practical implications. It further develops Graham Allison's approach, applying it to international trade negotiation process, thereby enhancing the power of describing, explaining, and predicting outcomes of international trade negotiations. Intended for graduate students and specialists studying U.S.-Japan trade negotiations as well as policymakers practicing such negotiations. To know why and how the SII was initiated and agreed upon and what factors contributed to different degrees of Japanese trade concessions, four multidimensionally-layered conceptual models systematically describe and explain the political process of the SII. Unlike most studies on U.S.-Japan trade negotiations which use the theoretically undefined case study method, the author tested different propositions for different degrees of Japanese trade concessions across five SII issue areas by combining a detailed case study with content analysis of newspaper indexes and meeting records. The book adds to the tradition of U.S.-Japan trade negotiation/decision-making research. It further develops Graham Allison's approach, applying it to the international trade negotiation process, thereby enhancing the power of describing, explaining, and predicting outcomes of international trade negotiations. Intended for graduate students and specialists studying U.S.-Japan trade negotiations as well as policy-makers practicing such negotiations.

Table of Contents

Preface Abbreviations Introduction Overview of SII Process and its Agreements Theoretical Framework and Research Design The SII as a Means of Gaiatsu: The Perspective of Government as a Unitary Rational Actor Quantification of Interactions between Governments: Pressures and Negotiations The SII as a Site of the Transgovernmental Coalition of Subunits The U.S. Agencies' Concerns: Content Analysis of the SII Meeting Records The SII as Part of a Transgovernmental Coalition among Top-level Policy-Makers The SII as Part of a Transgovernmental Elite Policy Networks of Working-Level officials Conclusion: Findings and Implications Appendix A: Tables Appendix B: The Coding Method for "Performative Structure" Content Analysis Appendix C: The Coding Method of Key-Word Content Analysis Bibli1ography Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

Page Top