 Professor
Hayami Yujiro is a leading Asian economist who has created a new field
in development economics that transformed conventional research by linking
field studies of agricultural villages extending over a quarter century
in the Philippines and other Asian countries with his exceptional ability
to explore new theory.
After graduating from
the University of Tokyo in 1956, Professor Hayami was awarded a Ph.D.
from Iowa State University. Since then, he has for many years pursued
in-depth studies of the changes in the economy of rural areas and the
activities of paddy growers, focusing on one village on Luzon Island.
The starting point for these studies was the joint research he conducted
at the world-famous International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the
Philippines, the institution that promoted the "Green Revolution"
by developing and propagating high-yielding varieties (HYV) of rice. In
concert with this research, he endeavored to systematize a theory aiming
to resolve the problems of poverty in developing countries. He created
a unique academic discipline also known as "Hayami Development Economics"
that focused on the relationship between the market, the state, and the
community.
Today, the field of
economics is approaching a major turning point. Western economists insisted
that the market was paramount, but are now faced with the inequality of
income and environmental problems. At the same time, the East Asian model
of industrialization as practiced by Japan, South Korea, and others, in
which industrialization is promoted by the state, is exposed to criticism.
These are because the past researches and strategies were directed primarily
toward market mechanisms and government policies.
Professor Hayami classified
contemporary conditions in each country and territory into either an economic
subsystem or a cultural and institutional subsystem. In addition to the
economy, his viewpoint emphasized the indigenous cultural value system
of a region and its social organization. Specifically, he focused on the
relationship of trust between people in Asian rural areas and their common
efforts for such work as planting, harvesting, and weeding. He praised
the income-sharing and work-sharing, which were a common practice in villages,
for their role in the economic growth of developing countries. Professor
Hayami continued to examine how the three aspects of market mechanism,
government policy, and human relations in a community had a mutually complementary
relationship in economic development based on the experience of the Asian
rural society. In addition to attracting academic interest from around
the world, this new large-scale paradigm is also having a significant
impact on World Bank policy reevaluation and the theoretical direction
of NGO activities.
Professor Hayami has
redefined an academic discipline, enabling the experience of the Asian
region to be broadly applied to the theory of economic development for
other developing countries. In addition, he has provided an innovative
policy direction for methods to resolve such problems as the inequality
of income distribution and environmental problems in developed countries
as well as developing countries. Professor Hayami's major contribution
to policy research into development throughout the world ensures that
he richly deserves the Academic Prize of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes.
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