International Production Networks and Domestic Operations of Japanese Manufacturing Firms: Normal periods and the Global Financial Crisis

The paper investigates the features of production networks of Japanese manufacturing firms and their domestic operations and export/import activities in normal periods and during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Our previous empirical studies have shown that firms that expand their operations in East Asia are more likely to expand domestic operations, particularly domestic employment, than firms that do not in normal periods. This study further verifies that such tendency stands during the GFC. Moreover, this paper expands the scope of our series of studies by introducing labor productivity as one of the performance variables and also analyzing changes in the relative and absolute size of headquarters and manufacturing activities over time in order to seek a possible sign of de-industrialization.