Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- 1 Setting the scene
- 2 Labour market concepts
- 3 Industrial relations
- 4 Labour costs
- 5 The bonus system
- 6 Recruitment, training, promotion and retirement
- 7 Employment, productivity and costs over the business cycle
- 8 Small businesses, subcontracting and employment
- 9 Schooling and earnings
- 10 Work and pay in Japan and elsewhere
- References
- Index
8 - Small businesses, subcontracting and employment
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- 1 Setting the scene
- 2 Labour market concepts
- 3 Industrial relations
- 4 Labour costs
- 5 The bonus system
- 6 Recruitment, training, promotion and retirement
- 7 Employment, productivity and costs over the business cycle
- 8 Small businesses, subcontracting and employment
- 9 Schooling and earnings
- 10 Work and pay in Japan and elsewhere
- References
- Index
Summary
The majority of Japanese workers work in small businesses. In fact, as a proportion of total employment, this group is larger than in Western countries. Small businesses formed over 99.9 per cent of total establishments in 1991 according to the Establishment Census. In terms of employee numbers, they employed 88 per cent of total non-primary employees in 1991. In this chapter, we both discuss the quantitative importance of the small business sector and examine differences in pay and work conditions between small and large firms. Inevitably, a considerable part of our discussion is devoted to subcontracting. Not only does this activity constitute a considerable part of small business activity – over 50 per cent of small firms in manufacturing industries are engaged in subcontracting – but its raison d'̓être has also stimulated considerable interest among labour market analysts. An interesting feature in this latter respect is that the subcontracting relationship between manufacturer and part supplier closely parallels that between the firm and its workers.
Small businesses in Japan
The importance of the small business sector in the Japanese economy
In Japanese manufacturing industry, the employment share of small businesses was 73.8 per cent in 1991 (Management and Co-ordination Agency, the Establishment Census). Table 8.1 compares the shares of small businesses for key variables in several different countries. In terms of establishment numbers, small business constitutes an extremely high percentage share in every country.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Work and Pay in Japan , pp. 138 - 156Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1999