Economic Growth in Japan and the U. S. S. R.

Angus Maddison presents a comparative analysis of the growth experience of Japan and USSR—the countries that account for one-fifth of the world’s economy in terms of output, behind the United States. With Japan having the world’s fastest growth of per capita income and the USSR following closely behind, the author analyzes the policies which enabled them to transform their economies and catch up with the developed world. This book also features the two different strategies these two nations utilized: Japan has maintained small farms and factories, developed a labor-intensive technology, and has successfully entered the world export markets, while USSR has created giant farms and factories and remained fairly isolated from world trade.