International competitiveness of japanese manufacturing

This paper deals with the effect of corporate management practices on the efficiency of Japanese manufacturing and their international trade performance. It also looks at the relative cost position in comparison with the major industrialized countries. Such cost comparisons reflect changes in productivity performance, inflation and exchange rate changes that have been so marked that the United States has become the lowest‐cost producer of manufactured products recently for the first time in the post‐war period. Some effects of these changes on the trade and balance of payments positions of Japan in relation to North America are outlined. The paper includes data for selected years from 1950 to 1988 for real GDP per employed person, real output per hour for manufacturing, and unit labour costs for manufacturing for the United States, Japan, Canada and six of the major European countries.