徐平教授的新著《苦涩的日本———从“赶超时代”到“后赶超时代”》即将付梓,有幸先睹为快。阅读新著,犹如浏览一部跌宕起伏的日本现代经济史画卷,跟随作者的思考,不难领略日本如何从战后初期的“极度贫困”中东山再起,一跃成为世界性的经济大国,也不难理解对于这样一个无论是其经济增长速度、工业产品竞争抑或财富积累规模都足以让世界为之惊叹的有别于西方的“异质”国家,其政府是如何以独特的制度供给和赶超模式推动着日本经济走向成功之路的。另外值得一提的是,日本在取 Professor Xu Ping’s new book, “Bitter Japan --- From the” catch up with the era of “to” catching up after the era of ultra “” is about to pay off, have the honor to see it fast. Reading the new book is like reading a picture of the ups and downs of Japan’s modern economic history. Following the author’s thinking, it is not hard to see how Japan has risen from a middle-east position in the early post-war period to becoming a world economic power. It is also not hard to understand how its government is uniquely different from the “heterogeneous” countries whose economic growth rate, industrial product competition or wealth accumulation scale is enough to make the world wonder Supply and catch-up models are driving the Japanese economy toward success. It is also worth mentioning that Japan is taking it