The Tokyo Conference
NAOI, TAKEO
By Takeo Naoi THE Economists gather to Tokyo Twenty-eight leading economists from a dozen countries held a week-long conference in Tokyo last month to explore problems of economic growth in...
...He was followed by Ayo Ogunsheye, acting director of extra-mural studies at University College, Nigeria, with a report on "Education in Underdeveloped Countries...
...Takeyasu Kimura of Tokyo University was rather skeptical about Clark's "optimistic" opinion on agricultural productivity...
...The majority of Japanese farmers now own the land they till...
...Much interest was shown in the results of Japan's postwar land reform...
...The conference was sponsored by the Congress for Cultural Freedom as an outgrowth of its Milan Conference on the Future of Freedom held in 1955...
...Planning in Yugoslavia," by Rodolf Bicamic, University of Zagreb...
...Bicamic's report on economic planning in Yugoslavia described the shortcomings of centralized administrative planning (1947-1951) and the efforts made to replace it by a more liberal, competitive, decentralized planned economy...
...Tun Thin pointed out that his nation had avoided all aid with "strings attached...
...According to Kimura, increases in agricultural productivity must be correlated with industrial development...
...India is conspicuous for its low percentage...
...Professor Okawa of Hitotsubashi University and Professor Misawa of Tokyo Education University dwelt on its remarkable achievements from the economic as well as the political and social points of view...
...Asoka Mehta of India remarked that there are two ways to persuade the people to sacrifice themselves for economic growth: One is the notion of nationalization...
...As a local newspaper put it, "it provided an opportunity for economic experts of the advanced Western nations and the underdeveloped nations of Southeast Asia to assemble in one hall and discuss in a broad perspective an issue of universal concern...
...During the discussion, many members from Asian countries stressed the significance of land reform from a political and social point of view, though they were not indifferent to its economic significance in raising productivity...
...Governments are involved in far-ranging reforms of social institutions...
...Rita Hinden, editor of Socialist Commentary (London), wondered how much the modern idea of egalitarian-ism influences the economic development of underdeveloped countries...
...He tried to answer these questions and to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures taken...
...Most of the delegates supported the Burmese position...
...It is also reasonable that they welcome the example of Japanese small industries, which do complete with big factories...
...The session was opened with addresses by Amlan Datta of Bombay University ("Stages of Industrialization and the Choice of Techniques"), Bert Hoselitz of Chicago ("Urbanization and Economic Growth in Asia") and Alessandro Molinari of Rome ("Industrialization and Decentralization...
...The topics at the nine conference sessions were: "The Rate of Economic Growth," "Agricultural Productivity and Land Reform," "Industrialization and Urbanization," "Education and the Intellectuals," "Internal Finance—Savings and Taxation," "External Finance — International Lending and Giving," "Problems of Planning—Controls and Administration," "The Role of the Trade Unions and of Private Enterprise and Political Dilemmas...
...The unions do have other important social roles: aiding displaced workers, setting up workers' housing, meeting the socio-psychological problems created by the transformation of rural labor into an industrial work force, etc...
...Discussion centered on the following papers: "Administrative Aspects of Planning," by M. L. Quereshi...
...The high rate of growth was sustained by a high rate of accumulation squeezed out of a low level of spending...
...Asian countries represented were Burma, Ceylon, India, Japan, Pakistan and Thailand...
...Another hindrance is the lack of a responsible press and public opinion which can check arbritrary Government action and provide factual criticism of Government policy...
...Colin Clark called attention to the fact that Britain had invested 10 per cent of national income in 1913 and said that capital-hungry countries need not worry over the future supply of foreign capital...
...He showed how in the agriculture of underdeveloped countries an increase of 2 per cent in real product was possible...
...Though most economic plans call for economizing on labor rather than on resources, he thought the latter plan more suitable for underdeveloped countries...
...The role of small industry in economic growth was the subject of heated discussion in the third session on industrialization and urbanization...
...He attempted to chart per-capita food requirements quantitatively and outlined the barriers to rising productivity in agriculture, notably inadequate transportation...
...But they do so through lower wages and various Government subsidies...
...The fifth session, dealing with internal finance, discussed the papers "Capital-Output Ratios in Economic Development," by Kurt Martin of Manchester University, and "Savings in Japan: A Case Study," by Saburo Okita, director of the Planning Division of the Economic Planning Board...
...Okita noted that Japan's high rate of economic growth had been accompanied by a high rate of accumulation, and this tendency was even accelerated in the postwar democratization period, when the causes apparently supporting the accumulation rate seemed to disappear...
...Trade Unions in Underdeveloped Countries," by Aso-ka Mehta...
...For example, organized labor in Japan is now demanding a minimum wage of 8,000 yen a month...
...This increase in the Government's role carries dangers: inefficiency, corruption, the strangling of private enterprise, above all the temptations of dictatorship...
...In Shils's opinion, the cultural traditions of Asian countries encourage the growth of "intellectuals" but not of scientists, engineers and administrators...
...During the discussion, various shortcomings of economic planning in underdeveloped countries were pointed out: lack of statistical materials and competent personnel, disagreement on fundamental policies, lack of leadership in economic matters on the part of politicians...
...It was understandable that Asian economists from overpopulated countries with little capital favored small industries...
...Shils proposed the creation of mechanisms, through the universities and civil service, to foster the development of "responsible criticism...
...W. Arthur Lewis of the University of Manchester, chairman of the conference, opened the first session with a paper on "Sponsored Growth: A Challenge to Democracy...
...The second session opened with remarks by Colin Clark of Oxford on "Agricultural Organization and Productivity" and by M. Dantwola of Bombay University on "Agricultural Productivity and Land Reform in India...
...This would stimulate inflation and hinder economic growth...
...Tun Thin of Rangoon University, M. L. Quereshi of the Planning Board of Pakistan, and Dr...
...It was the first big nongovernmental conference in Japan since the war and made a deep impression on both the participants and the Japanese public...
...Choosing India, Ghana and Nigeria for comparative study, Ogunsheye surveyed the tempo of education in underdeveloped countries after the war...
...At the next session, Edward Shils of Chicago University reported on "Intellectuals, Public Opinion and Economic Development...
...Lewis was followed by Bertrand de Jouvenel, speaking on "From Political Economy to Political Ecology," and Professor Ichiro Nakayama, President of Hitotsubashi University, discussing "Population Growth and Economic Growth...
...All in all, the conference was a signal success...
...How to sustain the small industries is a headache for every Japanese government and political party, radical or conservative...
...To Japanese economists, Professor Datta's idea seemed to need more qualification...
...The percentage of national income devoted to educational expenditures was 0.77 in India (1953-54), 1.5 in Nigeria (1955-56), 3.0 in Ghana (1953-54), and 4.7 in Japan (1955...
...What types of education have received the most attention...
...Amlan Datta came to Mehta's aid, contending that trade unions in underdeveloped countries should stress workers' mutual aid, improvement of labor conditions, and increased labor productivity...
...The unions should, he said, observe wage restraint, seek to increase productivity, and see that profits are plowed back for economic development...
...Paul Rosenstein-Rodan of MIT reported on "International Financing of Exports to Underdeveloped Countries...
...there is also an enormous extokyo meeting explore problems of growth in underdeveloped countries tension of the public sector, of public control over the private sector, and also of taxation...
...During the discussion, Asian delegates were inclined to emphasize the role of governmental controls, while Europeans were inclined to stress purely economic factors...
...By Takeo Naoi THE Economists gather to Tokyo Twenty-eight leading economists from a dozen countries held a week-long conference in Tokyo last month to explore problems of economic growth in underdeveloped countries...
...Japan, for example, will be able to export considerable capital in ten years...
...also participating were economists from Britain, Italy, Nigeria, the United States and Yugoslavia...
...The latter noted that the target of increase in India's agricultural production was originally set at 15.4 per cent but has been changed to 40 per cent...
...If this demand is met, almost all the small industries—comprising the overwhelming majority of industrial enterprises — will go bankrupt...
...After the revolts in Poland and Hungary, Nehru revised his idea of priority for heavy industry...
...The examples of the U.S., Russia and England in economic growth cannot be imitated because of the unique developmental patterns of these countries...
...Sumitoro, Dean of the University of Indonesia, all complained of the difficulty of getting private foreign capital to meet their demands...
...Datta favored encouraging the growth of cottage industries, which could increase national output with less capital outlay than factory investment...
...He concluded that nations in Asia and Africa, torn by internal divisions, may find in sponsoring economic growth a common purpose which strengthens national unity...
...Rita Hinden remarked that the British Labor party recently decided to divert 1 per cent of national income to aid underdeveloped countries when it next comes into office...
...At the session on external finance, Dr...
...Clark dismissed the widely held notion that two-thirds of the world's population is "undernourished...
...Many Asian economists supported the idea, saying that well-run cottage industries could compete with big industries...
...Hoselitz supported Datta and cited the achievements of Japanese small industries...
...Asoka Mehta declared that trade unions in underdeveloped countries, in contrast to advanced economies, cannot seek to increase the worker's share in consumption...
...Gandhism influences their thinking directly or indirectly...
...Jouvenel considered a number of historical examples to show how ecological and demographic factors limit increases in productivity...
...However, Lewis declared it should be possible to get popular consent within the democratic framework for whatever is required to raise per-capita output 2 per cent a year...
...The last part of the conference was devoted to planning...
...Hoselitz warned that urbanization in Asia had alreadv run ahead of industrialization and that further expansion of the large "primary" cities threatened to create social and political instability...
...Rita Hinden reported her impression in traveling through India that education is lagging severely and that the majority of the people are not in a position to understand democracy...
...In it, he considered to what extent the sponsorship of accelerated economic growth by governments menaces freedom...
...Between sessions, the participants visited the Kabuki theater, modern industrial plants, and several universities...
...Rita Hinden could see no difference between this idea of trade-unionism and the Soviet concept of the trade union serving the state...
...He has come to recognize the importance of farm production—a new stage in Indian thinking on economic development which will surely influence other Asian countries...
...Professor Nakayama discussed the contradiction between the high rate of Japan's economic growth and its low standard of living...
...Nakayama found this high rate of economic growth the only means of warding off I ho pressure of overpopulation...
...He advised the creation of medium-sized cities and appropriate small industries which could sustain their growth...
...Rent was cut in half, and peasants are now investing a considerable part of their income in production...
...the other is social justice...
Vol. 40 • May 1957 • No. 20
