Non-linear transition mechanism of production and Japanese development

This study theoretically clarifies the non-linear transition mechanism of production and Japanese economic development. This mechanism is empirically known but the precise nature of the shifts is unclear and has yet to be specified theoretically. The study focuses on four factors: economies of scale, the operating rate, the vintage facilities, and the international transfer of facilities, all of which would impact on the transition mechanism and from which a new model is derived. This model demonstrates the jumping processes involved in production highlighting the existences of thresholds, which induce them. These thresholds relate to the identified factors and which provide an explanation for rapid increases and sudden declines in production. This study investigates specific cases of such changes in the Japanese manufacturing sector and reviews the role of these four factors. Illustrated is the non-linear nature of the transition mechanism in its effect on the Japanese economic growth.