Researcher Database

（Last updated : 2024-10-21 22:31:58）　

OHASHI AKIRA

Department / Course College of Economics Department of Economics

Title / Position Professor

Other Affiliations
1.	Graduate School of Economics

Academic background
1.	2019/04～2022/03	Doctoral Program (2nd Semester) │ Socioeconomic Systems │ Graduate School, Division of Economics │ Nagoya University │ Completed Doctor of Economics
2.	1997/04～2002/03	Doctoral Program (2nd Semester) │ Economic History │ Graduate School, Division of Economics │ Hitotsubashi University │ Accomplished credits for doctoral program
3.	1995/04～1997/03	Master Course │ Economic History │ Graduate School, Division of Economics │ Hitotsubashi University │ Completed Master of Economics
4.	1991/04～1995/03	Department of Business Administration │ Faculty of Management │ Yokohama National University │ Graduated Bachelor of Business Administration

Business career
1.	2022/04 ～	Professor │ College of Economics │ Ritsumeikan University
2.	2019/04 ～ 2022/03	Director, Kinjo Gakuin University Library │ Kinjo Gakuin University Library │ Kinjo Gakuin University
3.	2016/04 ～ 2022/03	Part-time Lecturer │ Faculty of Economics │ Nanzan University
4.	2015/04 ～ 2019/03	Dean │ College of Global and Media Studies │ Kinjo Gakuin University
5.	2014/04 ～ 2015/03	Adviser to the President │ │ Kinjo Gakuin University
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Research activities
1.	2015/11 ～	The Japanese Association for American Studies
2.	2015/05 ～ 2020/03	Japan Society for Educational Technology
3.	2007/06 ～	Society for the Economic Studies of Securities
4.	2007/05 ～	American Economic History Association, Japan
5.	2010/10 ～ 2013/09	∟ Member, Editorial Committee
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Subject of research
1.	A Study on How the Two-tiered Credit System Was Formed in the U.S.
2.	A Study on Ideological Aspects of Economic Policy Making in the U.S.
3.	A Study on the Translation of Economic Power into Political Influence in the U.S.

Research summary
Structural Analysis of Economic Institutions, Regulatory Policies and Power in the U.S. 1. A Study on How the “Two-tiered Banking System” Was Formed in the U.S. The modern U.S. retail financial system is divided into “mainstream banking" and “fringe banking.” Mainstream banking comprises financial products and services provided by traditional depositary financial institutions, such as commercial banks and credit unions, whereas fringe banking comprises high-cost, high-risk financial products and services. On the other side of fringe banking, which has been burgeoning on the periphery of mainstream banking, there are the unbanked, who are excluded from mainstream banking and do not have bank accounts, and the underbanked, who have bank accounts but rely on fringe banking for basic financial products and services. As many as one in every four people are unbanked or underbanked in the U.S. Even though their income is limited, low-income households are compelled to pay substantial fees for cash checks or interest rates of up to three digits on payday loans. Payday loans are small-dollar, short-term, unsecured loans that bridge the shortage of money between paydays. Fringe banking, broadly divided into transactional- and credit-type, has experienced tremendous growth. Views on fringe banking are sharply divided. On the one hand, some studies accuse fringe banking of preying on low-income and working classes through deceptive tactics, and some have called payday lenders modern-day loan sharks. On the other hand, some argue that there is no evidence that fringe banking has increased bankruptcies, not helped improve household finances, or led to mainstream banking becoming too costly for low-income households, thus accelerating “unbanking.” Thus, the pros and cons of fringe banking have become an important issue in academic research and public policy. Adopting an economic-historical approach works to clarify the history of the creation of the two-tiered banking system is being carried out to understand the significance of the issue. 2. A Study on Ideological Aspects of Economic Policymaking in the U.S. In the United States, the State of the Union Address, the President’s Budget Message, and the Economic Report of the President are known as the three major President’s Addresses. After World War II, the Employment Act of 1946 was established to prevent the repetition of postwar depression like the one after World War I, and thus an economic collapse like the Great Depression. The Act has historical significance in that it clearly states that "to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power" is the federal government's responsibility. In addition, the Employment Act of 1946 created the President's Council of Economic Advisors, which consisted of three experts who submitted the Economic Report of the President mentioned above. The report, written by a group of distinguished economists, highlights the analysis of the current state of the U.S. economy, the administration's agenda, and its policy views. The author has translated the Economic Report of the President into Japanese since its 1996 edition. Based on this translation work, the author investigates how the partisan nature and each president’s policy views have been reflected in the economic policymaking from an ideological perspective. 3. A Study on the Translation of Economic Power into Political Influence in the U.S. During the 1970s, income and asset inequality in the U.S. shifted from shrinking to widening. Although various factors such as technological innovation and globalization have been discussed as reasons for increasing inequality, economic policies are believed to have played a pivotal role. In other words, if the U.S. wanted to curb the widening inequality, it could have done so, but we believe that the U.S. had not made any such policy choice. What factors determine the nature of such economic policies? What determines economic policies? The author believes that "Wall Street" has increased its political power to determine the economic and regulatory policies through its market dominance, and as a result, "Main Street" is suffering. Thus, the financial services sector's role in the overall economy has increased. These economic trends and issues are understood in the “financialization” concept. However, many previous studies have not discussed the market dominance of Wall Street concerning political power. The financial services sector manipulates its economic policies and institutions to serve its own interests. This process also means that the sector deprives the middle class and working classes of economic and political power, making the government work for only a fraction of the public, and not for the majority. This research project defines this concentration of power in the financial services sector of the contemporary U.S. economy as “Wall Street dominance.” It attempts to analyze the issues it engenders.

Present specialized field
Economic policy, Economic history, History of Europe and America (Keyword：U.S. Economic History, U.S. Economy, Political Economy)

Books
1.	2020/02	The Political Economy of the Wall Street-Washington Corridor

Papers
1.	2021/12	Retreating From the Consumer Credit Reform in the U.S. Ghetto During the Late 1960s and the Early 1970s │ Journal of American Economic History │ ,pp.1-20
2.	2021/03	Economic Populism and American Capitalism : Elizabeth Warren's Path from Academia to Politics │ ,pp.49-60
3.	2021/03	Re-creating the Consumer Credit Market for the Poor in the U.S. │ The American review │ ,pp.31-53
4.	2018/07/31	Effects of flipped classroom in the course instruction │ 金城学院大学人文・社会科学研究所紀要 = Bulletin of the Institute for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Kinjyo Gakuin University │ ,pp.1-15
5.	2017/04	BOOK REVIEWS : WAKAZONO, Chiaki : Reforms of the U.S. Financial Regulatory System │ 歴史と経済 : the journal of political economy and economic history │ ,pp.50-52
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Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research -KAKENHI-
1.	2014/04/01 ～ 2018/03/31	A study on integrating flipped classroom into educational system to improve student's generic skills and learning outcomes. │ Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
2.	2012/04/01 ～ 2015/03/31	Economic Inclusion of the unbanked in the U.S. │ Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)

Achievements of joint.Funded research
1.	2008 ～ 2010	Economic Thought of Federal Reserve Officials during the Great Depression

E-Mail Address

Department laboratory expense researcher number
70350957

researchmap Researcher code
5000020290