Professor Aoki when he was interested in dynamic processes in the market economy

Abstract

Masahiko Aoki is known in the English-speaking world as a creator and founder of comparative institutional analysis. However, Masahiko Aoki’s interests changed several times. As he himself recalled in his autobiography, Aoki made in his life seven intellectual ventures in five different fields. In this paper, I would like to address a more little-known aspect and period of Aoki’s research agenda. Although Aoki’s interests changed greatly throughout his career, there was under the surface a consistent and coherent stream: the study of organizations. His interest in organizations started from a sizable one, i.e., the centrally planned economy, to a smaller one: firms. Between these interests, there was a period where Aoki was deeply interested in the dynamic process of the market economy. During this period, I had a chance to work as his research assistant at the Kyoto Institute of Economic Research (KIER), an institute at Kyoto University. This paper is a recollection of my days in KIER with Professor Aoki.