Jon Woronoff

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jon Woronoff (born in 1938) is an American author. He wrote several books on Japanese Economics, Business and Society. His critical approach clashed with conventional wisdom in the 1980s and 90s when Japan was often considered a 'miracle' economy. He argued that Japanese management systems were far from ideal, suffering from inefficiency and rigidness. Jon Woronoff also argued that actual living standards in Japan were lower than the impression given by statistics such as GDP per head.

It could be argued that Japan's sluggish economic growth in recent years has vindicated some of Jon Woronoff's theories. Despite controversy when they were first published, many similar ideas are now part of mainstream orthodox opinion on the Japanese economy.

[edit] Books

• Hong Kong - Capitalist Paradise (1980)
• Asia's 'Miracle' Economies (1992)
• Japan's wasted workers (1983)
• Japan as - anything but - Number one (1990)
• Japan's commercial Empire (1984)
• The Japanese economic crisis (first edition in 1992, second in 1996)
• The Japanese Social Crisis (1997)
• The No-Nonsense Guide To Doing Business in Japan (2001)