Keijiro Otsuka – författare

Nothing could be more valuable than creating a new paradigm in economics, particularly in the field of agricultural development. A notable example is T. W. Schultz's (1964) thesis regarding "efficient but poor" small-scale farmers in low-income or developing countries. No less influential is Vernon Ruttan and Yujiro Hayami's thesis concerning the role of induced technical and institutional innovation; arguing that as the scarcity of a factor of production (e.g. labor) increases, technology that saves on the use of the factor is induced to develop, along with supportive institutions, including property rights systems, public-sector research and extension systems, and marketing institutions. In Chapter 2 of this volume, they note that "it became clear that the induced technical change theme could provide the structure needed to integrate a large body of theoretical and empirical research on agricultural development." In fact, their research provided a consistent and effective framework to analyze how markets, technology development and institutional changes interact to facilitate agricultural development.Their perspectives are wide, covering large geographical areas and a thorough analysis of the historical development of agriculture in the United States, Japan, and many other Asian countries. The book collects the most influential papers of Ruttan and Hayami in order to aid readers in understanding how these highly influential agricultural economists developed their perspectives.

Although there is much interest in poverty reduction, there are few agreed upon strategies to effectively reduce poverty. In this new book, the editors have gathered together various evidences on poverty dynamics, based on panel data from the last few decades in the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh and Tamil Nadu in India, compared with more recent data from sub-Saharan Africa. The major finding of this research project is that rural households in sub-Saharan African are beginning to experience the same pattern of structural change in income composition and poverty reduction that Asian households have experienced in the past 20-25 years. The chapters in the book explore how the spread of Green Revolution has triggered the subsequent transformation of rural economies. Many rural households in Asia have been able to move out of poverty in the presence of increasing scarcity of farmland initially by increasing rice income through the adoption of modern rice technology and gradually diversifying their income sources away from farm to non-farm activities. Increased participation in non-farm employment has been more pronounced among the more educated children, whose education is facilitated by an increase in farm income brought about by the Green Revolution. This book identifies the importance of Green Revolution and non-farm employment for poverty reduction in Asia, which provides valuable lessons for sub-Saharan Africa.

This volume examines different aspects of the Japanese experience in a comparative context. There is much here of relevance to contemporary developing countries anxious to initiate the experience of miraculous growth and anxious to avoid the subsequent stagnation.Such issues of the role of government in providing the right amount of infant industry protection, the relevance of the financial system, the country’s peculiar corporate structure and the role of education in a comparative context serve to illuminate the lessons and legacies of this unique experience in development.The relationship between various dimensions of its domestic policy experience and Japan’s international experience in trade promotion and foreign aid is explored and is of special interest to an international audience of academics and policymakers.

This volume examines different aspects of the Japanese experience in a comparative context. There is much here of relevance to contemporary developing countries anxious to initiate the experience of miraculous growth and anxious to avoid the subsequent stagnation.Such issues of the role of government in providing the right amount of infant industry protection, the relevance of the financial system, the country’s peculiar corporate structure and the role of education in a comparative context serve to illuminate the lessons and legacies of this unique experience in development.The relationship between various dimensions of its domestic policy experience and Japan’s international experience in trade promotion and foreign aid is explored and is of special interest to an international audience of academics and policymakers.

Why does a huge income gap still exist between developed and developing countries? Plausible causes on the surface may be the difference in technology, the quality of human resources, and economic institutions, but on the deeper level the gap reflects the success and failure of state building which is vital for economic development. This book provides cutting-edge knowledge on state building, economic development, and democratization based on case studies of Japan, ASEAN, South Asia, and selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa.The book examines the interaction between land policies and the state building in sub-Saharan Africa. It also pays special attention to corruption, which affects the relationship between the state and the development, and decentralization, which exerts influences on the contentious politics. Finally, the book also sheds new light on the failure and success of industrial policies based on a literature review and a case study of the rapidly growing pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh. This book is one of the few studies which squarely addresses state building and economic development, and will be of use to those interested in this subject, development practitioners, and policymakers in developing countries.

The words of US President John F. Kennedy, "the rising tide lifts all boats," can be applied to inclusive growth in contemporary Asia, where the poor are able to participate in and benefit from economic growth. Moving Out of Poverty explores three channels through which economic growth confers gains to the poor and improves the status of women. The first is creation of productive employment, as labor is typically the most abundant asset of the poor, and economic growth has created jobs in labor-intensive sectors. The second is investment in schooling which, coupled with increased opportunities to earn income, has elevated womens' status in society. The third is increased availability of improved infrastructure, which directly impacts increasing household income from wage work and self-employment activities.This book will be of great value to development economists, students and researchers interested in rural economies in Asia, and policymakers engaged in poverty reduction.

Transforming Poor Economies expertly proposes effective strategies for the development of agriculture and industry within lower income countries in Africa and Asia using insightful case studies to illustrate key findings.Kei Otsuka focuses on how to achieve the first and second Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), using detailed analysis of how agriculture and industry have developed to eradicate poverty and hunger. Otsuka demonstrates that ultimately success is driven by technological and managerial innovation based on learning from abroad, and investment in human capital so that major decision-makers such as farmers and enterprise managers can facilitate innovation. Otsuka further argues that the use of welfare programs to support the livelihoods of these countries are unlikely to have transformative impacts and that agricultural and industrial development results in proven poverty reduction.Scholars of economics and development will find the book’s case studies both invaluable and informative. Practitioners and policymakers in development assistance and planning, particularly in Africa and Asia, will also find this an excellent resource for future planning.

The words of US President John F. Kennedy, "the rising tide lifts all boats," can be applied to inclusive growth in contemporary Asia, where the poor are able to participate in and benefit from economic growth. Moving Out of Poverty explores three channels through which economic growth confers gains to the poor and improves the status of women. The first is creation of productive employment, as labor is typically the most abundant asset of the poor, and economic growth has created jobs in labor-intensive sectors. The second is investment in schooling which, coupled with increased opportunities to earn income, has elevated womens' status in society. The third is increased availability of improved infrastructure, which directly impacts increasing household income from wage work and self-employment activities.This book will be of great value to development economists, students and researchers interested in rural economies in Asia, and policymakers engaged in poverty reduction.

Why does a huge income gap still exist between developed and developing countries? Plausible causes on the surface may be the difference in technology, the quality of human resources, and economic institutions, but on the deeper level the gap reflects the success and failure of state building which is vital for economic development. This book provides cutting-edge knowledge on state building, economic development, and democratization based on case studies of Japan, ASEAN, South Asia, and selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa.The book examines the interaction between land policies and the state building in sub-Saharan Africa. It also pays special attention to corruption, which affects the relationship between the state and the development, and decentralization, which exerts influences on the contentious politics. Finally, the book also sheds new light on the failure and success of industrial policies based on a literature review and a case study of the rapidly growing pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh. This book is one of the few studies which squarely addresses state building and economic development, and will be of use to those interested in this subject, development practitioners, and policymakers in developing countries.

Although there is much interest in poverty reduction, there are few agreed upon strategies to effectively reduce poverty. In this new book, the editors have gathered together various evidences on poverty dynamics, based on panel data from the last few decades in the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh and Tamil Nadu in India, compared with more recent data from sub-Saharan Africa. The major finding of this research project is that rural households in sub-Saharan African are beginning to experience the same pattern of structural change in income composition and poverty reduction that Asian households have experienced in the past 20-25 years. The chapters in the book explore how the spread of Green Revolution has triggered the subsequent transformation of rural economies. Many rural households in Asia have been able to move out of poverty in the presence of increasing scarcity of farmland initially by increasing rice income through the adoption of modern rice technology and gradually diversifying their income sources away from farm to non-farm activities. Increased participation in non-farm employment has been more pronounced among the more educated children, whose education is facilitated by an increase in farm income brought about by the Green Revolution. This book identifies the importance of Green Revolution and non-farm employment for poverty reduction in Asia, which provides valuable lessons for sub-Saharan Africa.

This book is a collection of plenary sessions papers and selected invited panel papers presented in the 26th International Conference of Agricultural Economists held at Gold Coast, Australia, from 12th to 18th August 2006. Beginning with the presidential address by Prabhu Pingali and the Elmhirst lecture by Hans Binswanger dealing with global issues of agricultural growth, economic development, and empowerment of the rural poor, leading agricultural economists address such emerging and critical issues as the economics of natural disasters, international trade and marketing, food safety and health, and transformation of unfavorable poor areas, among other issues.

This book is the first systematic attempt to address emerging land markets and their implications for poverty, equity, and efficiency across a number of African countries. The high incidence of poverty and the need for increased agricultural productivity remain acute in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, where a lack of secure land rights and a growing scarcity of land relative to the size of the population are becoming increasingly critical issues. Indeed, land issues in the region are high on the international policy agenda. Yet our knowledge about land tenure security and other rural factor markets (such as labor, oxen, manure, purchased inputs, and credit) is far from adequate to formulate sensible policies. The case studies in the book show that, while land markets and especially informal markets have been rapidly emerging in densely populated parts of Africa - and have generally been to the benefit of the poor--their functions remain imperfect. This is due to policy-induced tenure insecurity and the fragmentation of agricultural land. Applying rigorous quantitative analyses, the book provides a basis for taking into account the role of land markets in national land policies. All too often, the authors argue, land policies have been extreme, either prohibiting all land transactions or giving unrestricted freehold rights to a small elite at the expense of the poor. From the long experience in Asia, it is known that such policies are detrimental to both production efficiency and equity of land use. The authors argue that future policies in Africa should work with the markets. Regulations should be imposed only with careful testing that they are having the intended effects. The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa is a resource for teaching in developed and developing countries, as it provides both comprehensive reviews of the literature and detailed case studies. It is intended to facilitate the dialogue between researchers and policymakers, as well as inspire researchers to go further in their investigations and build an even stronger basis for good policies. The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa is the first publication in the new Environment for Development (EfD) book series. EfD books focus on research and applications in environmental and natural resource economics as they are relevant to poverty reduction and environmental problems in developing countries. The EfD book series is part of the EfD initiative. (www.environmentfordevelopment.org)

At present, how to develop industries is a burning issue in Africa, where population growth remains high and economic development has thus far failed to provide sufficient jobs for many, especially young people and women. The creation of productive jobs through industrial development ought to be a central issue in steering economic activity across the continent.The authors of this book, consisting of two development economists and five practitioners, argue that the adoption of Kaizen management practices, which originated in Japan and have become widely used by manufacturers in advanced and emerging economies, is decisively the most effective first step for industrial development in Africa.This open access book discusses what Kaizen management is, why it is applicable to Africa, and why it can provide Africa with a springboard for sustainable economic growth and employment generation.

At present, how to develop industries is a burning issue in Africa, where population growth remains high and economic development has thus far failed to provide sufficient jobs for many, especially young people and women. The creation of productive jobs through industrial development ought to be a central issue in steering economic activity across the continent.The authors of this book, consisting of two development economists and five practitioners, argue that the adoption of Kaizen management practices, which originated in Japan and have become widely used by manufacturers in advanced and emerging economies, is decisively the most effective first step for industrial development in Africa.This open access book discusses what Kaizen management is, why it is applicable to Africa, and why it can provide Africa with a springboard for sustainable economic growth and employment generation.

This book explores recent experiences in the effort to bring about a Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The chapters focus on rice and maize, which are promising and strategic smallholder crops. Significantly, we find that an African Rice Revolution has already begun in many irrigated areas, using Asian-type modern varieties, chemical fertilizer, and improved management practices. Further, we find that the same technological package significantly increases the productivity and profitability of rice farming in rainfed areas as well. We also find evidence that that management training, when done well, can boost productivity on smallholder farms. This suggests that African governments can accelerate the pace of Africa’s Rice Revolution by strengthening extension capacity.The story for maize is wholly different, where most farmers use local varieties, apply little chemical fertilizer, and obtain very low yields. However, in the highly populated highlands of Kenya, a number of farmers have adopted high-yielding hybrid maize varieties and chemical fertilizer, as was the case in  the Asian Green Revolution, apply manure produced by stall-fed cows, as was the case during the British Agricultural Revolution, and keep improved cows or cross-breeds from European cows and local stock, as was the case of the Indian White Revolution. We conclude that while rice in Africa has benefited from an Asian Green Revolution strategy that emphasizes modern seeds, inputs, and focused knowledge transfers, the success of Africa’s Maize Revolution will require a different system approach based on hybrid maize, chemical and organic fertilizers, and stall-fed cross-bred cows.

This book explores recent experiences in the effort to bring about a Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The chapters focus on rice and maize, which are promising and strategic smallholder crops. Significantly, we find that an African Rice Revolution has already begun in many irrigated areas, using Asian-type modern varieties, chemical fertilizer, and improved management practices. Further, we find that the same technological package significantly increases the productivity and profitability of rice farming in rainfed areas as well. We also find evidence that that management training, when done well, can boost productivity on smallholder farms. This suggests that African governments can accelerate the pace of Africa’s Rice Revolution by strengthening extension capacity.The story for maize is wholly different, where most farmers use local varieties, apply little chemical fertilizer, and obtain very low yields. However, in the highly populated highlands of Kenya, a number of farmers have adopted high-yielding hybrid maize varieties and chemical fertilizer, as was the case in  the Asian Green Revolution, apply manure produced by stall-fed cows, as was the case during the British Agricultural Revolution, and keep improved cows or cross-breeds from European cows and local stock, as was the case of the Indian White Revolution. We conclude that while rice in Africa has benefited from an Asian Green Revolution strategy that emphasizes modern seeds, inputs, and focused knowledge transfers, the success of Africa’s Maize Revolution will require a different system approach based on hybrid maize, chemical and organic fertilizers, and stall-fed cross-bred cows.

Emerging Development of Agriculture in East Africa offers case studies that find promise in many new innovations. Farmers in Uganda have quickly learned the management of NERICA rice (a new upland rice variety), which is being disseminated in a limited way in the region. Also in Uganda, farmers living in more remote areas have improved access to markets due to the expansion of mobile phones.  In Kenya, improved milk marketing systems have increased efficiency and led to tangible increases in the adoption of dairy production technologies.  And the adoption of intensive dairy production systems in Kenya and Uganda are providing significant amounts of manure and positively impacting yields of maize and banana.

This volume explores the usefulness of the Asian model of agricultural development for Africa, where, even before the recent world food crisis, half the population lived on less than on dollar a day, and a staggering one in three people and one third of all children were undernourished. Africa has abundant natural resources; agriculture provides most of its jobs, a third of national income and a larger portion of total export earnings. However the levels of land and labor productivity rank among the worst in the world. The book explains Africa’s productivity gap and proposes ways to close it, by examining recent experience in Africa and by drawing on lessons from Asia.

Emerging Development of Agriculture in East Africa offers case studies that find promise in many new innovations. Farmers in Uganda have quickly learned the management of NERICA rice (a new upland rice variety), which is being disseminated in a limited way in the region. Also in Uganda, farmers living in more remote areas have improved access to markets due to the expansion of mobile phones.  In Kenya, improved milk marketing systems have increased efficiency and led to tangible increases in the adoption of dairy production technologies.  And the adoption of intensive dairy production systems in Kenya and Uganda are providing significant amounts of manure and positively impacting yields of maize and banana.

This volume explores the usefulness of the Asian model of agricultural development for Africa, where, even before the recent world food crisis, half the population lived on less than on dollar a day, and a staggering one in three people and one third of all children were undernourished. Africa has abundant natural resources; agriculture provides most of its jobs, a third of national income and a larger portion of total export earnings. However the levels of land and labor productivity rank among the worst in the world. The book explains Africa’s productivity gap and proposes ways to close it, by examining recent experience in Africa and by drawing on lessons from Asia.

This book sheds new light on the role of industrial districts in the industrial development of the past and present. Industrial districts, which refer to the geographical concentration of enterprises producing similar or closely related commodities in a small area, play a significant role in the development of manufacturing industries not only historically in Europe and Japan but also at present in emerging East Asian economies, such as China and Vietnam and low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The book identifies similarities in the development patterns of industrial districts in history and the present and analyzes the reasons for these similarities. More specifically, the book examines whether Marshallian agglomeration economies provide sufficient explanations and seeks to deepen understanding about the important factors that are missing.Despite the common issues addressed by economic historians and development economists regarding the advantages of industrial districts for industrial development, discussion of these issues between the two groups of researchers has been largely absent, or at best weak. The purpose of this book is to integrate the results of case studies by economic historians interested in France, Spain, and Japan and those by development economists interested in the contemporary industries still developing in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Tanzania, and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

This book sheds new light on the role of industrial districts in the industrial development of the past and present. Industrial districts, which refer to the geographical concentration of enterprises producing similar or closely related commodities in a small area, play a significant role in the development of manufacturing industries not only historically in Europe and Japan but also at present in emerging East Asian economies, such as China and Vietnam and low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The book identifies similarities in the development patterns of industrial districts in history and the present and analyzes the reasons for these similarities. More specifically, the book examines whether Marshallian agglomeration economies provide sufficient explanations and seeks to deepen understanding about the important factors that are missing.Despite the common issues addressed by economic historians and development economists regarding the advantages of industrial districts for industrial development, discussion of these issues between the two groups of researchers has been largely absent, or at best weak. The purpose of this book is to integrate the results of case studies by economic historians interested in France, Spain, and Japan and those by development economists interested in the contemporary industries still developing in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Tanzania, and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

It offers historical and contemporary case studies of transition, as well as the international background under which such a transition was successfully made (or delayed), by combining the approaches of economic history and development economics.

Volume 4, Emerging States at Crossroads, analyzes the economic, social, and political challenges that emerging states confronts, including middle-income trap, social disparity, and pressure for political opening.

This open access book seeks effective strategy to realize a rice Green Revolution in sub-Saharan Africa based on more than ten years of research team’s inquiries into determinants and consequences of new technology adoption in rice farming in seven countries in this region.

This open access book seeks effective strategy to realize a rice Green Revolution in sub-Saharan Africa based on more than ten years of research team’s inquiries into determinants and consequences of new technology adoption in rice farming in seven countries in this region.