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| SOCIAL OVERHEAD CAPITAL |
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by Hirofumi Uzawa
November 2000, 173 x 105 mm, 239 pp.,  660- |
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| Social overhead capital is a social
device that enables us to live financially prosperous lives, improve
the level of our culture, and maintain an appealing society with a
human touch. The author takes the view that “social overhead
capital” is a concrete expression of “institutionalism.”
He points out that this idea, originally advocated by Thorstein B.
Veblen, surpasses even capitalism and socialism in the 21st century
because it is aimed at creating an economy that protects the dignity
of all people and entitles them to the maximum level of civil rights.
The author explains the basic concept of “social overhead capital”
and its significance in the history of economics in the introduction
and Chapter 1 of this book. He focuses on key aspects of “social
overhead capital” one by one in the subsequent chapters, and
examines the social and economic roles it has played. The author also
discusses the institutional prerequisites a society must satisfy in
order to achieve sustainable economic growth. This book is the result
of the author's search for a way out of the fin-de-siecle confusion
and stagnation in Japanese society. |
| Contents |
| Foreword |
| Introduction - Definition of
an Affluent Society |
| Chapter 1: |
Concept of Social Overhead Capital |
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| a. |
Definition of Social Overhead Capital |
| b. |
Concept of Civil Rights and Economics |
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| Chapter 2: |
Farming and Farm Villages |
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| a. |
The Farming Way of Life |
| b. |
In Search of a Farming Revival |
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| Chapter 3: |
Cities |
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| a. |
Cities as Social Overhead Capital |
| b. |
Social Cost of Automobiles |
| c. |
Shift in Urban Thought |
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| Chapter 4: |
School Education |
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| a. |
School Education as Social Overhead Capital |
| b. |
Educational Theories Advocated by John Dewey and
Other Liberals |
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| Chapter 5: |
Thorstein B. Veblen's Views on Universities |
| Chapter 6: |
Medical Services as Social Overhead Capital |
| Chapter 7: |
Financial Systems as Social Overhead Capital |
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| a. |
Financial Crisis in the United States |
| b. |
Financial Crisis in Japan |
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| Chapter 8: |
The Global Environment |
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| a. |
The Environment in Human History |
| b. |
Two International Conferences on Environmental
Problems |
| c. |
Global Warming |
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| Afterword |
| About the Author |
| Born in Tottori Prefecture in 1928, Hirofumi Uzawa
graduated from the Department of Mathematics at the University of
Tokyo's School of Science, Faculty of Science in 1951 with a bachelor's
degree in economics. He is currently a member of the Japan Academy
and a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo. Major books by
Uzawa include The Social Cost of Automobiles; A Re-examination
of Modern Economics; How Economics Works; The Meaning
of ‘Narita’ — A Tragedy in Postwar Japan; On
Global Warming; On Japanese Education; Reading John
Keynes' ‘General Theory’; The Shift in Modern Economics;
Discussions on Reconsidering Contemporary Economics; A Critique
of Contemporary Japanese Economics; In Search of Public Economics;
The Poverty of ‘Affluent Societies’; Economic
Analysis - Basic Edition; Beyond the 20th Century; The
Economics of Global Warming; and Creating an Affluent Nation.
Uzawa also translated into Japanese Robinson's Contemporary Economics
and American-Style Capitalism and School Education, Vols. 1,
2 by Bowles and Gintis. All of these titles, as well as the 12-volume
edition The Complete Works of Hirofumi Uzawa — In Search of
a New Economics are available from Iwanami Shoten. |
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