The Economic Research of E. F. Penrose in Japan during 1925–30: The ‘Undelivered’ Message to Pre-war Japanese Society

Abstract

This paper addresses the economic research conducted by Ernest Francis Penrose (1895–1984) in Nagoya, Japan, from 1925 to 1930. After graduating from Cambridge University, he relocated to Japan as a lecturer and began creating the first indices in Japanese history of the physical volume of production, the significance of which was only recognized in the world after the First World War. Penrose was a pioneer in his contribution to the development of quantitative analysis in Japan. His analysis also included practical critical remarks and significant perspectives on Japanese economic policy shortly before the war, although they had no actual influence on the Japanese government at the time. Utilizing his articles published during his stay in Japan, this study sheds light on his contributions, mostly unrecorded in the history of the development of economics in Japan.