Pure monopolies in Japanese manufacturing
A big hat tip to one of my students Arno Albici for spotting a superb article in the Economist about a cluster of mid-sized Japanese manufacturers who continue to enjoy near pure-monopoly power in highly specific, high value-added businesses. decades of industry expertise and reinvesting profit to fund high levels of research and innovation continue to give these companies a remarkable competitive strength in the market. The barriers to entry for rival manufacturers are very high and this helps to explain the limited contestability in the global marketplace.
For example:
Shimano earns around $1.5 billion a year by supplying 60-70% of the world’s bicycle gears and brakes
YKK makes around half the world’s zip fasteners by value,
75% of motors for hard-disk drives in computers come from a firm called Nidec
90% of the micro-motors used to adjust the rear-view mirror in every car are made by Mabuchi
“Many technology products have become commodities, but certain components have not, since they require continual innovation. So entry barriers to the business of making them remain high, and although the margins on the final goods have deteriorated, the margins on specialised, high-end components are still juicy.: Much more here
Paul Romer on economic growth
BBC Radio’s Global Business this week sees Peter Day in conversation with Professor Paul Romer from Stanford University, Paul Romer is an expert in the causes of long run run growth and his current focus is on the economics of new cities in developed and developing countries. It is a programme well worth listening to, Romer is tremendously optimistic about the opportunities created by faster economic growth - especially growth built around innovation and appropriate rules systems.
Long run growth is closely asscociated with the discovery / implementation of new ideas
1/ technologies
2/ rules that govern how people interact and how the economy works
The two are closely inter-connected - Social rules often hold back the potential in new technology
Is growth good?
New technologies are potentially harmful if not accompanied by rules that make growth sustainable e.g. that limit pollution and over-fishing. Rules that put the right price on fuel and on carbon. Rules that set minimum standards for water quality and sanitation. Rules (or general principles on what types of transport are allowed and the size and pattern of properties).
Devices are getting smaller and using less energy per unit of output - this kind of growth that has a huge human value does not necessarily destroy the natural environment.
Cities 2.0
Romer’s current project is about building brand new cities - the entry of new cities that can be designed with very different sets of rules about transport patterns, density patterns and use of carbon.
In the developing world there are many new cities that will have to be built - this is an enormous opportunity. Successful cities are hubs of creative activity and chaotic innovation. But the framework of rules for new cities becomes even more important - government sets the framework of rules, the private sector operates within these rules. Rules can be enforced by law or by social custom.
The internet will ultimately speed up innovation in physical technologies and this leads Romer to be optimistic on sustainable growth. We will always face trade-offs, compromises and limits to consume less energy per unit of income. We face resource constraints and these will become ever more apparent as global living standards rise - but this will not stop progress. Indeed the price mechanism may accelerate experimentation, innovation and progress in finding some solutions to environmental crises.
Economic growth is ok if you have the right rules - more value, higher quality of life, more time with the kids, better investment in the things we care about.
