Ruins to Riches
The Economic Resurgence of Germany and Japan after 1945

The first comparative account of the remarkable economic recovery of Germany and Japan since the end of World War II.

Raymond G. Stokes (Author)

9781316514528, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 May 2024

345 pages
23.6 x 16.1 x 2.4 cm, 0.64 kg

'… an outstanding analysis of (West) German and Japanese economic history since 1945. This is a book that will be welcomed by novices as well as by readers who are interested in economic history but unfamiliar with this particular topic.' Armin Grünbacher, Journal of Modern History

In 1945, Germany and Japan lay prostrate after total war and resounding defeat. By 1960, they had the second and fifth largest economies in the world respectively. This global leadership has been maintained ever since. How did these 'economic miracles' come to pass, and why were these two nations particularly adept at achieving them? Ray Stokes is the first to unpack these questions from comparative and international perspectives, emphasising both the individuals and companies behind this exceptional performance and the broader global political and economic contexts. He highlights the potent mixtures in both countries of judicious state action, effective industrial organisation, benign labour relations, and technological innovation, which they adapted constantly – sometimes painfully – to take full advantage of rapidly growing post-war international trade and globalisation. Together, they explain the spectacular resurgence of Deutschland AG and Japan Incorporated to global economic and technological leadership, which they have sustained to the present.

Introduction
Part I. No Mere Incantation: Rising from the Ashes of Defeat, 1945 to the early 1950s
1. From Foe to Friend: The Allied Military Occupation of Germany and Japan
2. Networking the Miracle Makers: (Re-)Constructing Cooperative Capitalism
Part II. Making Miracles, 1950–1973
3. Manufacturing Miracles I: Forging Alternative Fordisms
4. Manufacturing Miracles II: From Humble Craftsmen to World Beaters
5. Consuming Miracles
6. Exporting Wonders
Part III. Sustaining Miracles, 1973–1989
7. The Wages of Construction
8. The Hauntings of the Past
9. Fragile Strength: Coping with Currency and Oil Crises
Part IV. Navigating Waves of Globalization, 1990 to the present
10. Managing in Major Markets: Making and Selling in the United States and China
11. Coping with the Close of the Cold War
12. The Shock of the New Century: Three Crises (and a Near Miss)
Conclusion: Deutschland AG and Japan Inc. – Lessons and Limits.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ]