Akamatsu Kaname

Akamatsu Kaname ( Japanese 赤松 要 , Akamatsu Kaname ; born August 7, 1896 in Kurume , † December 20, 1974 ) was a Japanese economist. With the so-called flying geese model ( Japanese 雁 行 形態 論 , Gankō Keitairon , English flying-geese model ) he published an influential concept of economic development in Japan.

Life

He was born in the small town of Kurume in the north of the island of Kyushu . He studied economics and German philosophy at Tokyo School of Economics (now Hitotsubashi University ), and his poor background may have contributed to his developing a keen interest in Marxist ideas. In 1924 he went to Germany for two years, where he became familiar with Friedrich List's ideas on economics and Hegel's philosophy in Berlin and Heidelberg . In London he visited the grave of Karl Marx , in Boston he got to know the methods of mathematical economy developed there at the newly established Harvard Bureau of Economic Statistics. Since 1926 he taught at Nagoya University . He empirically examined the economic development, particularly using the example of the regional textile industry. The research formed the basis for his theoretical work. In 1939 he moved to the Tokyo School of Economics. From 1943 he worked in Singapore. After the end of the Second World War, he was suspected of being a war criminal and brought to justice. He was exonerated of this charge. From 1953 he was the dean of the economics faculty of Hitotsubashi University.

plant

In the 1930s he developed the (translated) "goose flight model of economic development." He resorted to Friedrich List and added his own thoughts to his ideas. His concept made a major contribution to the country's economic development in the years that followed. After that, the import of foreign consumer goods was important for building up an own industry. Only then would a market for such products arise in the country itself. His work remained unknown in the West for a long time. He himself published only two small essays in English in the 1960s. His books have not yet been translated.

Works

• A historical pattern of economic growth in developing countries . in: Journal of Developing Economies, 1 (1): 3-25, March-August 1962.

literature

• Werner Lachmann: Development Policy. Volume 1: Basics. Göttingen, 2004 ISBN 978-3-486-25139-5 p. 82
• Karl Bachinger / Herbert Matis: Development Dimensions of Capitalism. Classic socio-economic conceptions and analyzes. Vienna, 2009 ISBN 978-3-8252-3074-6 p. 283

Web links

• Pekka Korhonen: Development Theory in East Asia: The Goose Flying Model Online version

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Akamatsu is the family name, Kaname the first name.