The fable of the keiretsu urban legends of the Japanese economy - Miwa, Yoshirō (University of Chicago Press, 2006)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 165-178) and index
Introduction -- The fable of the keiretsu -- And of the zaibatsu -- The myth of the main bank -- And of outside directors -- Legends of government guidance -- The cost of kipling
For Western economists and journalists, the most distinctive facet of the post-war Japanese business world has been the keiretsu, or the insular business alliances among powerful corporations. Within keiretsu groups, argue these observers, firms preferentially trade, lend money, take and receive technical and financial assistance, and cement their ties through cross-shareholding agreements. In The Fable of the Keiretsu, Yoshiro Miwa and J. Mark Ramseyer demonstrate that all this talk is really just urban legend. In their insightful analysis, the authors show that the very idea of the keiretsu w