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Contrary to all expectations, Japan's long-term recession has provoked no sustained political movement to replace the nation's malfunctioning economic structure. The country's basic social contract has so far proved resistant to reform, even in the face of persistently adverse conditions. In Race for the Exits, Leonard J. Schoppa explains why it has endured and how long it can last. The postwar Japanese system of "convoy capitalism" traded lifetime employment for male workers against government support for industry and the private (female) provision of care for children and the elderly. Two social groups bore a particularly heavy burden in providing for the social protection of the weak and dependent: large firms, which committed to keeping their core workforce on the payroll even in slow times, and women, who stayed home to care for their homes and families.Using the exit-voice framework made famous by Albert Hirschman, Schoppa argues that both groups have chosen "exit" rather than "voice," depriving the political process of the energy needed to propel necessary reforms in the system. Instead of fighting for reform, firms slowly shift jobs overseas, and many women abandon hopes of accommodating both family and career. Over time, however, these trends have placed growing economic and demographic pressures on the social contract. As industries reduce their domestic operations, the Japanese economy is further diminished. Japan has also experienced a "baby bust" as women opt out of motherhood. Schoppa suggests that a radical break with the Japanese social contract of the past is becoming inevitable as the system slowly and quietly unravels.

Social security --- Economic security --- Human services --- Sécurité sociale --- Sécurité économique --- Services sociaux --- Japan --- Japon --- Economic conditions --- Social conditions --- Social policy. --- Economic policy --- Conditions économiques --- Conditions sociales --- Politique sociale --- Politique économique --- Social policy --- J4216 --- J4210 --- J4301 --- J4000.90 --- -Economic security --- -Human services --- -Services, Human --- Security, Economic --- Welfare economics --- Insurance, Social --- Insurance, State and compulsory --- Social insurance --- Insurance --- Income maintenance programs --- Japan: Sociology and anthropology -- social policy and pathology -- social welfare, social security --- Japan: Sociology and anthropology -- social policy and pathology --- Japan: Economy and industry -- policy, legislation, guidelines, codes of behavior --- Japan: Social history, history of civilization -- postwar Shōwa (1945- ), Heisei period (1989- ), contemporary --- -Economic conditions --- -Social policy. --- -J4216 --- -Social security --- Sécurité sociale --- Sécurité économique --- Conditions économiques --- Politique économique --- Services, Human --- Social security - Japan --- Economic security - Japan --- Human services - Japan --- Japan - Social conditions - 1945 --- -Japan - Economic conditions - 1989 --- -Japan - Social policy --- Japan - Economic policy - 1989 --- 1989-.... --- 1945-....

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This book explains how postwar Japan managed to achieve a highly egalitarian form of capitalism despite meager social spending. Estevez-Abe develops an institutional, rational-choice model to solve this puzzle. She shows how Japan's electoral system generated incentives that led political actors to protect various groups that lost out in market competition. She explains how Japan's postwar welfare state relied upon various alternatives to orthodox social spending programs. The initial postwar success of Japan's political economy has given way to periods of crisis and reform. This book follows this story up to the present day. Estevez-Abe shows how the current electoral system renders obsolete the old form of social protection. She argues that institutionally Japan now resembles Britain and predicts that Japan's welfare system will also come to resemble Britain's. Japan thus faces a more market-oriented society and less equality.

Public welfare --- Welfare state --- J4000.90 --- J4216 --- J4300.90 --- State, Welfare --- Economic policy --- Social policy --- State, The --- Welfare economics --- History --- Japan: Social history, history of civilization -- postwar Shōwa (1945- ), Heisei period (1989- ), contemporary --- Japan: Sociology and anthropology -- social policy and pathology -- social welfare, social security --- Japan: Economy and industry -- history -- postwar Shōwa (1945- ), Heisei period (1989- ), contemporary --- Japan --- Economic conditions. --- History. --- Social Sciences --- Political Science