慶應義塾大学　経済学部　PEARL入試　志望理由書　提出例(大久保 敏弘先生ゼミ向け)

慶應義塾大学　経済学部　PEARL入試　志望理由書　提出例(大久保 敏弘先生ゼミ向け)

Dr. Toshihiro Okubo

Professor

Department of Economics, International Trade

Keio University

Dear Professor Okubo,

I am writing this letter with an intention to explain my purpose in applying for Department of Economics at Keio University, with its focus on International Trade. I would be more than grateful if you can kindly give it a read.

Abstract – I recently came across this term “deindustrialization” as opposed to “industrialization”. It seems to refer to the phenomena, since the 1990’s employment in manufacturing jobs is declining in the richer countries which include United States, Japan, France, Canada, Switzerland etc. These countries are often characterized as “post-industrial,” meaning they are developed to the point where most of their citizens work in the service sector rather than in factory assembly lines. I assume it is a good change in a way it provides developing countries with higher wage jobs than what is available locally. However, in a country like Japan, I am not certain if we are benefiting from this movement.

Question – What impact does the wave of industrialization have on globalization? How can we benefit from this?

Research – Look into how and how long deindustrialization has been happening across the globe, and how it has affected Japan’s job availability, GDP added value and economic benefit. 

Discussion – Essentially, moving manufacturing jobs elsewhere contributes to globalization and exchange of goods which creates global value chains. Inbound Logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing and Sales, and Service are categorized as primary global chain activities. How much a country is benefiting from globalization can be measured by how much it is involved in global value chains and its value added to GDP.

Findings – Japan’s employment fulfillment % within manufacturing did not drop as much as it did in many other rich countries – remained around 20-30% since the 1980’s. Due to the consumer interest and specificity of Japanese products, Japan decided to keep most of its supply hands domestic, and manufacturing jobs were not necessarily considered low wage job in Japan. However, for products targeting international markets, we did deploy supply operation outside and managed to take part in global chains. 

Conclusion – Japan had its own reaction to globalization and its own path in deindustrialization. Overall we seem to have fair amount of involvement in the chains but can do better to maximize our productivity. 

This thesis has a room for further review, and I would love to take part in a seminar active in collecting datapoints and research to deepen my understanding. Thank you so much for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely Yours,

*Quantifying the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement,大久保 敏弘

Journal of the Japanese and International Economies （Journal of the Japanese and International Economies)  51 110 – 128 2019年06月, 研究論文（学術雑誌）, 共著, 査読有り, ISSN 08891583 

*GVC journeys: Industrialisation and deindustrialisation in the age of the second unbundling, Baldwin R., Okubo T., Journal of the Japanese and International Economies （Journal of the Japanese and International Economies)  52 53 – 67 2019年06月 ISSN 08891583