Eisaku Ide

Do Libraries Matter? Public libraries and the creation of social capital

Purpose – Librarians and the library profession keep repeating that libraries contribute greatly to generating social capital by “building community”. However, little evidence of this has been presented. This paper aims to be a first step towards correcting this situation by asking whether public libraries matter in the creation of generalized trust.Design/methodology/approach – This study used quantitative data in analyzing macro‐level data on whether public library expenditure could explain social trust patterns in the OECD countries. Additionally, a few qualitative interviews with public library leaders in the USA and Norway were used to indicate by what mechanisms, or by which processes, libraries generate generalized trust.Findings – The main finding is that public libraries seem the most important factor in creating generalized trust in the OECD area, even more so than efficient/impartial public institutions. However, there is the problem of causal direction. It might be the case that it is high tru...

The library profession under pressure in Japan: change in the construction state

In the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008, with increasing unemployment, the small effects of economic stimulus packages and debt-ridden economies with deflationary tendencies, many economists see the downward economic trajectory of Japan as a possible route for the rest of the advanced OECD economies. In this context, the way Japanese public library services are affected by the ‘hard times’ is of interest regarding prospective developments in public libraries in the OECD countries outside Japan, and regarding the design of policies for maintaining high quality library services in a prolonged economic downturn. From 1997 the number of permanently employed librarians declined, and funds for materials shrank. Interviews with librarians, library directors, and leading officials at prefectural and ministerial levels, show that these changes were even more dramatic than the statistics reveal. Tentative explanations for the changes relating to the Japanese political economy are discussed. Hypotheses regarding both Japan specific policies and institutions, and imported neo-liberal policies and institutions are put forward.

The Rise and Fall of the Industrious State: Why Did Japan’s Welfare State Differ from European-Style Models?

This chapter explains why the welfare state in modern Japan should be described as the “Industrious State” and discusses how and why its development diverged from that of the European-style model. The Industrious State was based on a model of personal responsibility, supported by a historic ideology extolling the virtues of hard work and savings. The Industrious State was built on the pillars of cuts in income taxes that would return income to workers and of investments in public works that would ensure opportunities for work. In the 1990s, however, the Industrious State was confronted with the collapse of the “bubble economy” followed by a sharp decline in income levels and a sagging savings rate. Since then, Japan has struggled to replace the Industrious State.

The Political Economy of Taxing, Spending, and Redistribution Since 1945: An Introduction

The “Worlds of Taxation” volume responds to the need for scholarship analyzing the historical background of the challenges faced by governments of industrial nations as they attempt to devise fiscal policies that fund welfare states and address the growing inequality of wealth and income. The volume presents case studies of the varieties of fiscal welfarism since 1945, drawing on the framing methodologies developed in fiscal history scholarship since the 1990s. These studies focus on episodes of policy shifts in Denmark, Sweden, France, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, the United States, and Japan, enriched with data on other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. The studies feature comparative analysis of universalistic welfare states funded primarily by broad-based taxes with the history of less ambitious welfare states funded by more eclectic tax systems.