在日本邮政储蓄私有化和既得利益集团的意识形态【外文翻译】
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精心整理邮政储汇业务员理论知识复习题(初级)一、单项选择1.()是邮政基本业务之一,是邮政赖以生存和发展的基础业务。
A、函件业务B、包件业务C、快递业务D、发行业务【A】2.《储蓄管理条例》规定:储蓄存款利率由中国人民银行拟订,经()批准后公布实施。
A、银监会B、国务院C、审计部D、监察处【B】3.《储蓄管理条例》规定:储蓄机构的设置应申领经银监会批准发放的()。
A、《安全生产许可证》B、《保险许可证》C、《金融许可证》D、《代理基金许可证》【C】4.《储蓄管理条例》规定:逾期支取的定期储蓄存款,其超过原定存期的部分,除约定自动转存【D】17.个人通知存款存单或存款凭证上不注明存期和利率,按()挂牌公告的相应利率水平和实际存期计息,利随本清。
A、开户日B、清户日C、结息日D、支取日【D】18.关于客户变更有效实名证件,以下说法正确的是()。
A、在县(市)内任一联网网点办理B、在账户通存通取范围内任一联网网点办理C、在省内任一联网网点办理D、可由他人代理【C】19.柜员制网点应配备图像清晰、能看清票面的自动监控设施,每个网点至少有()个探头。
A、二B、三C、四D、五【B】20.河南省简称(),省会是郑州。
A、晋B、闽C、豫D、赣【C】21.汇兑非联网网点每日填写营业日报单一式二份,其中一份营业日报单连同相关原始凭证按日寄送()。
A、支局长B、事后监督部门C、市分行D、县支行【B】22.汇兑业务中冷僻字如“霸”,可在录入时表示为()。
A、(雨/革月)B、雨/革月C、(雨革/月)D、雨/革月【A】23.活期利息计算中“累计计息积数”是指()。
A、每日余额合计数B、所有利息和C、所有存期之和D、存期之积【A】24.货币市场基金是基金业务按()不同的分类。
A、投资标的B、基金运作方式C、基金投资方式D、基金主体?【A】?25.基金(????)交易不受节假日限制,但受开闭市限制。
?A、赎回?B、基金业务撤单?C、预约?D、转换?【C】?36.客户密码必须由客户使用专用密码输入设备输入,只能输入到终端画面的客户密码输入域里,密码输入时屏幕上显示“(????)”代替密码值。
1、①对发展中国家和新兴市场国家尤其如此②很大原因是因为中国仍然保持着对资本流动的严格控制③作为一个发展中国家,中国之所以在过去这些年屡屡可以躲过金融危机的直接冲击④资本的自由流动,从来都是一把双刃剑⑤一个原因就是这些国家尚不成熟的金融体系碰上了具有高度流动性的国际资本⑥这个世界上几乎还没有哪个新兴市场国家逃脱过金融危机的魔爪对上述语句排序正确的一项是()。
A.③②⑥⑤④①B.⑥①⑤④③②C.④①③②⑥⑤D.③②④①⑥⑤答案:D解析:【解析】观察各句中的重复词语和关联词可看出,③中的“之所以”与②中的“是因为”构成因果关系,且为先说结果后解释原因的倒装形式,可见③②应依次连在一起。
②和④中都提到了“资本流动”,为重复词语,可见两句应相连。
①和⑥中都提到了“新兴市场国家”,为重复词语,可见两句应相连。
⑤句“一个原因就是……”是对原因的总结,作为结语恰当通顺。
因此,本题答案为D选项2、阿基米德曾经说:给我一个支点,就能转动地球。
如果我们把经济活动比作地球,经济政策比作杠杆,那么经济理论就是那个撬动“地球”的支点。
对于我们主管经济工作的领导同志来讲,天天与政策打交道,或是制定政策,或是执行政策,但如果没有掌握必要的经济理论,难免会打乱仗,事倍功半不说,很多时候还会弄巧成拙。
这段文字最想表达的是()。
A.经济理论在经济工作中的重要作用B.主管经济工作的领导应掌握一定的经济理论C.经济工作失误的原因D.领导干部要学会驾驭经济工作答案:B解析:【解析】文段通过引用阿基米德的名言,用比喻的方法说明了经济理论的重要性。
接着用转折关联词“但”从反面指出主管经济的领导若没有经济理论的支持就做不好工作。
言外之意就是呼吁主管经济的领导要掌握相关的经济理论。
因此,本题正确答案为B项3、不是每一个人都能成为科学家、文学家等大名鼎鼎的人,不是每一个人都能成为太阳、星星、月亮,那么不能发巨大光亮的人,可不可以心里想着“只做一只蜡烛也好”,照亮身边的一圈人,照亮身边这个社会的角落。
从国家到市场:一个关于私有化的调查研究作者:William L. Megginson,Jeffry M. Netter1.简介现在全世界所说的私有化,被广义的定义为以民营经济为主体的政府或出售国有企业或资产。
由于自80年代初以来的英国撒切尔政府那时持怀疑态度的公众(也包括许多经济学家),私有化现在似乎被接纳为合法的——甚至成为核心——变成100 多个国家的政府治国的工具。
私有化是越来越多地使用市场分配资源的持续的全球现象的最重要的元素之一。
这在过去的二十年中世界各地的私有化计划是很有诱惑力的,并得出结论:政府的经济和政治优点与私有制的争论已经决定。
但是,这样的结论是有缺陷的,因为25年前国家所有制的支持者可以简单地调查了国有企业的战后崛起,并认为经济组织的模式是赢得知识分子的战斗与自由市场资本主义。
而不是指向私有化的传播,把它的命运,我们的目标是评估对私有化影响的政策实证研究的结果。
因此,本文调查了快速增长的文献私有化,试图帧并回答关键问题的研究此流已经解决,然后介绍它的一些关于出售国有资产的承诺和危险的教训。
纵观本次调查中,我们采用的顾问,政府决策者是谁摔跤是否和如何实施私有化计划的实际问题的角度。
政策制定者问:“什么是研究文献都告诉我们,私有化作为经济政策的这些方面?”我们试图回答这些重要问题。
本文的结构如下。
第2章提供私有化的简要历史回顾。
我们考察了私有化计划,在扭转国有企业参与发达国家和发展中国家的经济生活的影响。
第3节简要调查,国有企业和民营企业的相对经济表现的最近的理论和实证研究。
第4节详细介绍了不同类型的交易是在不同的区域标记为“私有化”。
我们特别提请注意所选股票发行私有化的结构和定价。
我们还评估了各种形式的“优惠券”或已经实施“大规模”私有化。
本节还探讨改善是否少激进的方法。
国有企业,如放松管制,并允许更大的竞争(或更多的常规步骤,如使用管理绩效合同)的性能,能有效地替代完全私有化。
日本邮政储蓄体制改革的经验和启示作者:李明肖2010年01月25日摘自:《中国金融》2005年第12期共有0条评论打印Email评论日本邮政储蓄是政府长期扶持形成的金融怪胎,是当今世界最大的金融机构。
它已经与日本经济、金融、政治深度交织在一起,成为日本重构现代经济制度的一个巨大障碍。
它在今天的改革中呈现的种种艰辛和问题,对我国严重滞后的邮政储蓄体制改革有着重要的警示和启发意义。
同时,日本邮政储蓄在发展和改革中所积累的一些积极经验,也值得我们借鉴。
日本邮政储蓄体制改革情况长期以来,日本庞大的邮政储蓄由政企合一的邮政省混合经营管理。
它作为日本政府实施产业政策的一个巨大、隐晦的资金来源而得到政府的大力扶持,也因此成为一个体制扭曲、脱离市场的金融怪胎。
泡沫经济破灭后,日本原有的财政投融资体制在邮政储蓄资金运用上的低效率备受责难,邮政储蓄体制不顺、效率低下、持续亏损,面临强大的改革压力和金融自由化的冲击。
但由于日本邮政储蓄改革涉及上层政治和基层经济之间盘根错节的利益关系,改革同时触及邮政28万从业人员作为国家公务员的就业体制以及广大受惠已久的存款人(选民)既得利益,阻力重重,一直以来是日本政治的禁忌,历届政府对此信心不足,改革在艰难中摸索前进。
日本邮政储蓄体制改革在上世纪90年代后期开始酝酿。
改革从邮政体制整体改革入手,并强调了立法先行的原则。
1998年6月,日本国会通过的《中央省厅改革基本法》(即中央政府机构改革法)明确提出,邮政储蓄改革的方向是改造成一个国有公司,保留“狭窄业务银行”特色。
为此,日本邮政体制实施了分两步走的改革步骤:第一步,实行邮政行业管理与经营职能分离。
2001年1月6日,根据《中央省厅改革基本法》,废除邮政省,将邮政省的政府管理职能与邮政经营职能实施分离,分别划归新设立的总务省,在总务省下设邮政企划管理局和邮政事业厅(行政法人)。
其中,邮政企划管理局承担邮政行业管理职能;邮政事业厅承担邮政机构经营管理职能。
2020中国邮政储蓄银行招聘试题及答案解析(网络整理,与原题顺序可能不一致)1. 我国河流众多海岸线漫长.关于内河航道的表述不正确的是:_____A: 京杭运河航道上的港口城市有苏州、杭州B: 松花江航道只能季节性通航C: 珠江航道被称为“黄金水道”D: 长江航道干流长、支流多、江宽水深参考答案: C本题解释:参考答案:C【解析】长江航道被称为“黄金水道”。
故本题答案选C。
2. 世界贸易组织的最终目标是实现_____A: 世界贸易标准化B: 各国利益均等化C: 世界贸易自由化D: 世界贸易稳定化参考答案: C本题解释:【答案】C。
解析:世界贸易组织(WTO)成立于1995年1月1日,是独立于联合国的永久性国际组织,它是全球唯一一个国际性贸易组织,负责处理国家之间贸易往来和协定。
该组织的任务是:通过实施市场开发、非歧视和公平贸易组织,达到推动实现世界贸易自由化的目标。
3. 吊销许可证、执照属于行政处罚种类中的_____。
A: 训诫罚B: 行为罚C: 财产罚D: 人身自由罚参考答案: B本题解释:参考答案:B 【解析】行为罚亦称能力罚,是行政主体对违反行政法律规范的行政相对方所采取的限制或剥夺其特定行为能力或资格的一种处罚措施。
包括责令停产停业,暂扣或吊销许可证、执照两种形式。
由此可知,本题正确答案为B。
训诫罚亦称申诫罚、精神罚,主要形式是警告。
财产罚包括罚款和没收两种形式。
人身自由罚的主要形式是行政拘留。
4. 人们在剧烈的体育运动后,会感到腰腿或全身肌肉酸痛,疲惫不堪,有的还感到饥渴难耐,这主要是因为体内的酸碱平衡不能正常维持,体液偏酸而使疲劳症状加重。
此时应该多食用_____。
A: 鸡、色、肉B: 牛奶、豆制品、蔬菜水果C: 巧克力D: 可乐参考答案: B本题解释:参考答案:B【解析】一般正常人的体液呈弱碱性。
人在体育锻炼后,感到肌肉、关节酸胀和精神疲乏,其主要原因是体内的糖、脂肪、蛋白质被大量分解,在分解过程中,产生乳酸、磷酸等酸性物质。
单项选择局部1. 按照“4Ps〞组合的内容,可以把(B)策略分为四种,即:产物策略、价格策略、渠道策略、促销策略。
A、发卖B、营销C、经营D、效劳2. 产物泛指(C)。
A、商品B、劳务C、商品和劳务D、商品和效劳3. 邮政通信具有(B)的一致性。
A、出产过程和效劳过程B、出产过程和消费过程C、消费过程和办理过程D、消费过程和效劳过程4. 关系营销可以降低交易的(B)和本钱,最正确状态是,交易不需每次都进行磋商,而成为一种惯例。
A、预算B、时间C、开支D、掉误5. 日本首都的英文名称是(D)。
A、ManilaB、AbujaC、ParisD、Tokyo6. 英文direct mail 的中辞意思是(A)。
A、广告邮件/商函B、身份证明C、中国邮政D、邮政储蓄7. 应用文写作(A)要求做到质朴、确切、简练。
即准确性、鲜明性。
A、语言B、内容C、不雅点D、材料8. 邮政客户(B)是一种以注重选用低资费邮政业务为主的心理。
A、实用心理B、求廉心理C、自尊心理D、保密心理9. (B)是一种最普及最根本的查询拜访方法。
A、询问法B、统计阐发法C、不雅察法D、尝试法10. 澳大利亚的英文名称是(A)。
A、AustraliaB、FranceC、Republic of KoreaD、Japan11. 在邮政编码中,前两位编码71、72的是(A)省。
A、陕西B、黑龙江C、浙江D、甘肃12. 寻找客户的区域突击法是推销人员事先挑选具有典型意义的区块,方案好将要走访的区域、社区、商务楼等,通过很有礼貌的方式,操纵真诚的语言,预备多种宣传材料,对该区域内的(C)住户进行一次全面的突击性推销拜候。
A、特定B、局部C、所有D、重要13. 效用是消费者对产物满足其需要的(B)的评价。
A、整体实力B、整体能力C、潜在能力D、潜在实力14. 市场营销者就是从他人处寻求(D)并愿意以有价物品进行交换的人。
A、信息B、资金C、商品D、资源15. 市场查询拜访的方法很多,但(C)不属于此方法。
2023年中信银行重庆分行社会招聘考试真题(满分100分时间120分钟)一、单选题(每题只有一个正确答案,答错、不答或多答均不得分)1.小李在某商场用1000元现金购买了一套化妆品,这1000元执行了货币的()职能。
A.价值尺度B.贮藏手段C.支付手段D.流通手段【答案】:D2.据学者研究,甲午战争之前的三百年中,日本翻译中国书籍有129种之多,而中国翻译日本书籍却只有12种;但是之后的十几年中,日本翻译中国书籍仅有16种,而中国翻译日本书籍却达到了958 种,其中多数为政治、法律类书籍。
造成这一变化的主要原因是()。
A.日本的文化交流政策由开放转向封闭B.中国知识分子主张通过日本学习西方C.日本为进一步侵略中国制造政治舆论D.马关条约规定中国必须进口日本图书【答案】:B3.意识是人脑的机能指的是()A.意识是人脑自生的B.意识是人脑的分泌物C.人脑是意识的源泉D.人脑是意识的物质器官【答案】:D4.我国饮用矿泉水的基本类别是碳酸水、硅酸水和锶水。
此外还有锌、锂、溴、碘及硒矿泉水等,这里的锌、锂、溴、碘、硒是指()。
A.分子1/ 12B.单质C.原子D.元素【答案】:D5.下列说法中,物体的质量和密度都不变的是()。
A.密闭容器内的冰融化成水B.一支粉笔被老师用去一半C.被“神六”从地面带入太空的照相机D.矿泉水喝掉一半后放入冰箱冻成冰【答案】:C6.货币政策是政府调控宏观经济的基本手段之一,当通货紧缩严重时,应该采取的货币政策是()。
A.紧缩性货币政策B.积极的货币政策C.适度宽松的货币政策D.扩张性货币政策【答案】:D7.为提高居民生活水平,使每个人都能享受到改革的红利,政府决定提高个人所得税免征额,该政策属于()。
A.宽松的财政政策B.宽松的货币政策C.紧缩的货币政策D.紧缩的财政政策【答案】:A8.传染病是由各种病原体引起的能在人与人、动物与动物或人与动物之间相互传播的一类疾病。
传染病的流行过程主要是:()A.传染源—传播对象—易感人群(或动物)B.传染源—传播场所—易感人群(或动物)C.传播媒介—易感人群(或动物)—污染源D.传染源—传播途径—易感人群(或动物)2/ 12【答案】:D9.关于非全日制用工的说法,下列哪一选项不符合《劳动合同法》规定()A.非全日制用工劳动报酬结算支付周期最长不得超过15日B.非全日制用工合同不得约定试用期C.非全日制用工终止时,用人单位应当向劳动者支付经济补偿D.从事非全日制用工的劳动者与多个用人单位订立劳动合同的,后订立的合同不得影响先订立合同的履行【答案】:C10.现代西方哲学人本主义思潮发端于()。
原文:Ideologies, vested interest groups, and postal saving privatization inJapanThe privatization of Japan’s postal saving system has been a politically charged issue since it first started being debated in the late 1980s, and yet it provides a useful setting in which political economy of economicpolicy-making can be investigated empirically. Analyzing the pre-election survey of the House of Representatives candidates in 2003 and also the voting patterns of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members on a set of postal privatization bills in 2005, this paper asks why some politicians fiercely opposed (or supported) privatization. The econometric results show that multiple factors are important: the privateinterests of local postmasters and postal workers, poli ticians’ fundamental ideologies on the size and role of government, party disciplines and factional affiliations within the LDP. Legislative behavior on postal privatization in Japan, thus, turns out to be one case in which legislative behavior is more complex than any single theory predicts.Background2.1 Postal saving systemAs with the postal saving system of other countries,2 government ownership of the postal saving system in Japan has traditionally been regarded as an economically efficient and socially desirable institution; i.e., it takes advantage of the existing mail collection and delivery facilities to provide financial services to the un-banked or under-banked rural population at low cost (Rosenbluth 1989; Patrick 1967).3 As of 2005, when postal saving privatization was being considered in the Diet, there were over 24,000 post offices nationwide. Most of them are so-called “special post offices” that are managed by special postmasters, hire only one or two employees per office, and engage little in mail delivery services. The primary task of these small postal units is instead the collection of postal saving deposits.The postal system offers extensive depository services both in the cities and rural areas of Japan and competes directly with private banks for deposits (Kuwayama 2000; Cargill and Yoshino 2003; Imai 2008a in press). In particular, the expansion of post offices both in cities and rural areas that started in 1960 led to such an enormous shifts of funds away from the private banking se ctor into the postal saving system that Japan’s postal saving system is now the largest financial institution in the world.4 Moreover, according to the data available at the Universal Postal Union,5 virtually every Japanese resident has his or her own postal aving account: there are a total of 118 million postal saving accounts for a population of 127 million.6 The fact that virtually every Japanese resident has a postal savings account is consistent with the notion that postal saving is widely accessible and financially attractive even for those individuals who have easy access to privately provided financial services. One way for the postal system to avoid competing directly for funds with private banks is to limit the amount of postal deposits per individual or household. The Japanese government does do this, but the limit is high, 10 million yen (approximately $100,000). To make matters worse, this statutory limit is not rigorously enforced, and it has been alleged that wealthy savers illegally hold multiple accounts, thereby exceeding the limit (Rosenbluth 1989).The problems created by the postal saving system are not limited to the extent of aggressive government intervention in the collection of funds from households. The second and perhaps more important issue is the outlet of these funds. Although the pool of funds collected via postal saving and insurance is managed by an independent public corporation, Japan Post, which can invest its funds as it sees fit, it in reality is the major source of funding for government-directed loans under the Fiscal Investment and Loan Program (FILP). The FILP takes these funds andchannels them to government-affiliated corporations and other preferred borrowers (e.g., mortgage borrowers, small firms, and underdeveloped areas), and it has been widely believed that the FILP funds wasteful projects and unviable borrowers for political purposes.2.2 Movement toward postal privatizationThe Japanese government began considering the privatization of the postal saving system in the 1980s under the leadership of Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, a conservative contemporary of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, when Nakasone and the Japanese government undertook large scale administrative reform in the face of a rising budget deficit. Although the Nakasone administration successfully completed the privatization of three large public corporations, Japan National Railway (JNR), Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), and Japan Tobacco (JT), it decided not to privatize the postal system.11 Since then, no administration has seriously considered privatization of the postal system. A turning point came in September 1997, when the Administrative Reform Council, headed by the Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, issued an interim report which recommended the privatization of the financial business operations of the postal system. A turning point came in September 1997, when the Administrative Reform Council, headed by the Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, issued an interim report which recommended the privatization of the financial business operations of the postal system. TheCouncil’s recommendation, however, faced fierce resistance from both the opposition and Hashimoto’s fellow LDP members. Reflecting such enormous political opposition, the final report, published in November 1997, included a written commitment that “postal services will never be privatized”.The final report did, however, include three policy recommendations that were designed to reduce the overnment’s involvement in postal services operations. First, it called for a shift in the management of the postal system from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication to an independent corporation, Japan Post. Second, it recommended that Japan Post should have complete autonomy with respect to the manner in which it invests postal saving and insurance funds: in other words Japan Post has no obligation to fund the FILP. Third, the government agencies that traditionally had relied on the FILP loans would need to issue their own securities to finance their projects. Hence, these recommendations principally were aimed at cutting off the flow of postal saving funds to seemingly wasteful government agencies and introducing some elements of market discipline into the operations of those agencies.The second important change occurred in 2001 when Koizumi Junichiro, a long-time advocate of postal ivatization, became Prime Minister by winning a landslide victory in the LDP presidential primary.13 Koizumi was a popular reformer as the popularity survey continued to show approval ratings above 70%.14 As soon as he took office, Koizumi assembled pro-reformers and set up an advisory panel, which immediately demanded the disclosure of the postal system’s unrealized profits and losses and sent bills to t he Diet that would actually implement the reform measures spelled out in the aforementioned report.15 The actual implementation of postal privatization was slow, however, as Koizumi struggled to reach a compromise with the opposition group that argued that postal ivatization would violate the 1997 report’s pledge that the postal system was not to be privatized. Nonetheless, in September 2004, three years after becoming the prime minister, Koizumi announced the specifics of postal privatization. The 2004 proposal for postal privatization called for dividing the postal system into four units (over-the-counter service, mail delivery, postal saving, and insurance). The government-owned holding company was to retain ownership of the first two units while completely divesting itself of the postal saving and insurance units by 2017. The point of contention in the proposal was its adherence to the full privatization of postal saving and insurance, and the posing LDP members maintained that the holding company must retain some ownership of those two units. Subsequently, the government made several important compromises in an attempt to obtain enough support for passage by the Diet. In particular, the final bills made it possible for the government to retain some ownership of the postal saving and insurance units.More specifically, the holding company wasallowed to buy back some shares, and the over-the-counter and mail delivery units also were allowed to buy the financial unit’s shares to form a cross-shareholding group. By 2005, when the cabinet wasready to ubmit the privatization bills to the Diet, the contents of the bills had been watered down substantially.译文.在日本邮政储蓄私有化和既得利益集团的意识形态日本的邮政储蓄系统的私有化一直是政治性的刚开始的问题,因为它正在讨论在80年代末,但它提供了一个有用的设置中,经济决策的政治经济可以进行调查经验。
阿里地区2022年邮政储蓄银行招聘试题及答案一、单选题1、现阶段我国货币政策的目标是()。
A、保持币值稳定B、充分就业C、保持币值稳定并以此促进经济增长D、国际收支平衡【答案】C【解析】现阶段我国货币政策的目标是“保持货币币值的稳定,并以此促进经济的增长。
”2、我国商业银行不得在境内进行的业务有()。
A、代售基金B、黄金交易C、证券经营D、外汇买卖【答案】C【解析】《商业银行法》第四十三条规定:“商业银行在中华人民共和国境内不得从事信托投资和证券经营业务,不得向非自用不动产投资或者向非银行金融机构和企业投资,但国家另有规定的除外。
”限制银行从事信托投资、证券经营业务和向非自用不动产投资和企业投资,主要是为了贯彻金融分业经营的原则,防范金融风险,维护金融安全。
3、只要存在商品经济,就必然存在的经济规律是()。
A、市场竞争规律B、价值规律C、剩余价值规律D、生产关系一定要适合生产力发展的规律【答案】B【解析】价值规律存在的经济条件是商品经济的存在和发展,价值规律是商品生产和商品交换的基本经济规律。
4、人民币是()。
A、实物货币B、代用货币C、金属货币D、信用货币【答案】D【解析】人民币是我国的法定货币,采取不兑现纸币的形式,没有含金量的规定,是一种信用货币。
5、斯坦利·杰文斯提出的“太阳黑子理论”是()。
A、关于经济周期形成的内部原因的一种解释B、关于经济周期形成的外部原因的一种解释C、关于经济增长的内部原因的一种解释D、关于经济增长的外部原因的一种解释【答案】B【解析】太阳黑子理论是用太阳黑子活动对农业的影响,从而对工业、商业、工资、购买投资等方面的影响来说明经济周期现象的,是典型的外生经济周期理论。
6、现代企业制度的基本形式是()。
A、委托代理制B、有限财产责任制度C、公司制D、法人财产制度【答案】C【解析】现代企业制度的基本形式是公司制,在公司制企业中,产权分解为财产的终极所有权和法人财产权。
原文:Ideologies, vested interest groups, and postal saving privatization inJapanThe privatization of Japan’s postal saving system has been a politically charged issue since it first started being debated in the late 1980s, and yet it provides a useful setting in which political economy of economicpolicy-making can be investigated empirically. Analyzing the pre-election survey of the House of Representatives candidates in 2003 and also the voting patterns of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members on a set of postal privatization bills in 2005, this paper asks why some politicians fiercely opposed (or supported) privatization. The econometric results show that multiple factors are important: the privateinterests of local postmasters and postal workers, poli ticians’ fundamental ideologies on the size and role of government, party disciplines and factional affiliations within the LDP. Legislative behavior on postal privatization in Japan, thus, turns out to be one case in which legislative behavior is more complex than any single theory predicts.Background2.1 Postal saving systemAs with the postal saving system of other countries,2 government ownership of the postal saving system in Japan has traditionally been regarded as an economically efficient and socially desirable institution; i.e., it takes advantage of the existing mail collection and delivery facilities to provide financial services to the un-banked or under-banked rural population at low cost (Rosenbluth 1989; Patrick 1967).3 As of 2005, when postal saving privatization was being considered in the Diet, there were over 24,000 post offices nationwide. Most of them are so-called “special post offices” that are managed by special postmasters, hire only one or two employees per office, and engage little in mail delivery services. The primary task of these small postal units is instead the collection of postal saving deposits.The postal system offers extensive depository services both in the cities and rural areas of Japan and competes directly with private banks for deposits (Kuwayama 2000; Cargill and Yoshino 2003; Imai 2008a in press). In particular, the expansion of post offices both in cities and rural areas that started in 1960 led to such an enormous shifts of funds away from the private banking se ctor into the postal saving system that Japan’s postal saving system is now the largest financial institution in the world.4 Moreover, according to the data available at the Universal Postal Union,5 virtually every Japanese resident has his or her own postal aving account: there are a total of 118 million postal saving accounts for a population of 127 million.6 The fact that virtually every Japanese resident has a postal savings account is consistent with the notion that postal saving is widely accessible and financially attractive even for those individuals who have easy access to privately provided financial services. One way for the postal system to avoid competing directly for funds with private banks is to limit the amount of postal deposits per individual or household. The Japanese government does do this, but the limit is high, 10 million yen (approximately $100,000). To make matters worse, this statutory limit is not rigorously enforced, and it has been alleged that wealthy savers illegally hold multiple accounts, thereby exceeding the limit (Rosenbluth 1989).The problems created by the postal saving system are not limited to the extent of aggressive government intervention in the collection of funds from households. The second and perhaps more important issue is the outlet of these funds. Although the pool of funds collected via postal saving and insurance is managed by an independent public corporation, Japan Post, which can invest its funds as it sees fit, it in reality is the major source of funding for government-directed loans under the Fiscal Investment and Loan Program (FILP). The FILP takes these funds andchannels them to government-affiliated corporations and other preferred borrowers (e.g., mortgage borrowers, small firms, and underdeveloped areas), and it has been widely believed that the FILP funds wasteful projects and unviable borrowers for political purposes.2.2 Movement toward postal privatizationThe Japanese government began considering the privatization of the postal saving system in the 1980s under the leadership of Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, a conservative contemporary of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, when Nakasone and the Japanese government undertook large scale administrative reform in the face of a rising budget deficit. Although the Nakasone administration successfully completed the privatization of three large public corporations, Japan National Railway (JNR), Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), and Japan Tobacco (JT), it decided not to privatize the postal system.11 Since then, no administration has seriously considered privatization of the postal system. A turning point came in September 1997, when the Administrative Reform Council, headed by the Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, issued an interim report which recommended the privatization of the financial business operations of the postal system. A turning point came in September 1997, when the Administrative Reform Council, headed by the Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, issued an interim report which recommended the privatization of the financial business operations of the postal system. TheCouncil’s recommendation, however, faced fierce resistance from both the opposition and Hashimoto’s fellow LDP members. Reflecting such enormous political opposition, the final report, published in November 1997, included a written commitment that “postal services will never be privatized”.The final report did, however, include three policy recommendations that were designed to reduce the overnment’s involvement in postal services operations. First, it called for a shift in the management of the postal system from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication to an independent corporation, Japan Post. Second, it recommended that Japan Post should have complete autonomy with respect to the manner in which it invests postal saving and insurance funds: in other words Japan Post has no obligation to fund the FILP. Third, the government agencies that traditionally had relied on the FILP loans would need to issue their own securities to finance their projects. Hence, these recommendations principally were aimed at cutting off the flow of postal saving funds to seemingly wasteful government agencies and introducing some elements of market discipline into the operations of those agencies.The second important change occurred in 2001 when Koizumi Junichiro, a long-time advocate of postal ivatization, became Prime Minister by winning a landslide victory in the LDP presidential primary.13 Koizumi was a popular reformer as the popularity survey continued to show approval ratings above 70%.14 As soon as he took office, Koizumi assembled pro-reformers and set up an advisory panel, which immediately demanded the disclosure of the postal system’s unrealized profits and losses and sent bills to t he Diet that would actually implement the reform measures spelled out in the aforementioned report.15 The actual implementation of postal privatization was slow, however, as Koizumi struggled to reach a compromise with the opposition group that argued that postal ivatization would violate the 1997 report’s pledge that the postal system was not to be privatized. Nonetheless, in September 2004, three years after becoming the prime minister, Koizumi announced the specifics of postal privatization. The 2004 proposal for postal privatization called for dividing the postal system into four units (over-the-counter service, mail delivery, postal saving, and insurance). The government-owned holding company was to retain ownership of the first two units while completely divesting itself of the postal saving and insurance units by 2017. The point of contention in the proposal was its adherence to the full privatization of postal saving and insurance, and the posing LDP members maintained that the holding company must retain some ownership of those two units. Subsequently, the government made several important compromises in an attempt to obtain enough support for passage by the Diet. In particular, the final bills made it possible for the government to retain some ownership of the postal saving and insurance units.More specifically, the holding company wasallowed to buy back some shares, and the over-the-counter and mail delivery units also were allowed to buy the financial unit’s shares to form a cross-shareholding group. By 2005, when the cabinet wasready to ubmit the privatization bills to the Diet, the contents of the bills had been watered down substantially.译文.在日本邮政储蓄私有化和既得利益集团的意识形态日本的邮政储蓄系统的私有化一直是政治性的刚开始的问题,因为它正在讨论在80年代末,但它提供了一个有用的设置中,经济决策的政治经济可以进行调查经验。