ECON337 4 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ECON337 4 - Coursework Example These especially were; iron and steel, ships, chemicals and petroleum products. The growth of heavy manufacturing industries in Japan after World War II can mainly be to increased exports and wages of male workers(Paul & Hart., pp.110-111). The export of heavy-manufactured products increased as compared to the earlier over-reliance on domestic markets. The increased male wage and improved working conditions improved their purchasing power for the heavy manufactured goods like automobiles and advanced electronic products increasing the local market. In addition, the ability of Japan to keep real wage increases below productivity gains ensured that the heavy manufacturing industries would still make profits despite the increased labor costs. This gave Japan an added advantage over most of its international counterparts leading to rapid growth and export success (Paul & Hart, p.112). The industries scrapped off during this period were mainly the light manufacturing sector. These are the production of cotton textiles, synthetic textiles and labor-intensive electronic production- including radio, TV’s, and Tape recorders. The reason for scrapping off such industries was mainly the rising cost of labor in the country and external pressure from its bilateral (US &European governments) and multilateral trade partners (IMF, OECD & GATT).Unlike the heavy and chemical manufacturing industries that predominantly depended on male labor, the light manufacturing sector would accommodate both male and female employment. In this case, women, labor would be preferred since it would be cheap. Unfortunately, after WWII even women labor became expensive mostly due to the rapid growth of output as well as employment. As Japan increased its share of the worlds manufactured export market, other capitalists countries felt threatened and imposed import restrictions on Japan and demanded that it liberalizes its imports. This was mainly in