An Overview of Research into International Values in Japan

Abstract

In Japan, research into international values has been conducted vigorously since the latter half of the 1940s. From a global perspective, studies that emphasize demand factors in the determination of international values have been dominant; however, this has not been the case in Japan. Neoclassical studies of this subject have not been as vitalized. Rather, many of the studies have succeeded the works of Ricardo, Marx, Graham, and Sraffa who placed a high priority on supply factors in the determination of commodity prices. Research on this topic is divided roughly into two periods owing to its contents and characteristics. One is the period until the 1980s and the other is that since the 1990s. Research in the first period was chiefly carried out by Marxian economists, and that in the second period, based on Graham and Sraffa, has led to the birth of the new theory of international values developed in this book. In this chapter, we provide an overview of research into international values in Japan. In addition, we explain Graham’s relatively unknown theory of international values and show the fundamental structure of the Graham-type model (a modified version of Graham’s original model and a multi-country multi-commodity Ricardian trade model). Furthermore, we present a way in which to derive an equilibrium solution of this model practically.