TY  - JOUR
AU  - Ito, Takatoshi
AU  - Maruyama, Masayoshi
TI  - Is the Japanese Distribution System Really Inefficient?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 3306
PY  - 1990
Y2  - March 1990
DO  - 10.3386/w3306
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3306
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3306.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Takatoshi Ito
Columbia University
School of International and Public Affairs
Room 927 IAB (MC 3333)
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027
Tel: 212-854-6401
Fax: 212-749-1497
E-Mail: ti2164@columbia.edu

Masayoshi Maruyama
M1  - published as Takatoshi Ito, Masayoshi Maruyama. "Is the Japanese Distribution System Really Inefficient?," in Paul Krugman, editor, "Trade with Japan: Has the Door Opened Wider?" University of Chicago Press, 1991 (1991)

AB  - This paper investigates the efficiency of the Japanese distribution system, measured by the distribution margin. Most of the discussions on the Japanese distribution system have so far relied on institutional descriptions and anecdotal evidence, failing to substantiate the case. The present paper will show that the Japanese and U.S. distribution sectors are about the same in terms of value added and distribution margins. Therefore, it is not true that the distribution sector adds up unnecessary distribution costs or earns monopolistic operating profits. This paper will not address a question whether the distribution system is acting as a non-tariff barrier. Thus, even if the distribution sector in Japan is judged to be "efficient," it leaves open a possibility that the distribution system works as a barrier to potential new entrants from both home and foreign manufacturers.
ER  -