Arthur Alexander is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, teaching on the Japanese economy. He was president of the Japan Economic Institute in Washington, DC from 1990 to 2000. His other experience includes 22 years at the Rand Corp. and consulting to industry and government. He was an original faculty member of the Rand Graduate School for Policy Analysis and a member of its advisory committee.
His most recent books are on the Japanese economy: The Arc of Japan’s Economic Development, Routledge, 2007; and In the Shadow of the Miracle, Lexington Books, 2002. Alexander received an award from the Japanese Foreign Ministry for “distinguished service” promoting understanding of Japan.
Alexander grew up in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, graduated from MIT, served in the U.S. Army, worked for the IBM Corp. as a systems analyst, received a M.Sc. degree in economics from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. in economics from the Johns Hopkins University. He was a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. For five years, he served on the U.S. Army Science Board, a civilian advisory group. He is currently serving as the publicly elected chairman of the town council of the Maryland municipality of Martin’s Additions.
Award Information
This research examines U.S.-Japan economic and political relations using 49 years of events data. Events are international occurrences reportable by the news media. Data for 1979-96, extracted from the Reuters international newswires by a University of Maryland research group, will be acquired with project funds and added to existing 1948- 78 records. Records include a short event description, coded by subject and a cooperation-conflict index. Events will be combined with economic and political data to test hypotheses about economic and political relations - in particular, whether U.S. economic objectives were exchanged for political goals during the Cold War and whether these tradeoffs have since changed. This comprehensive account of postwar bilateral relations combined with economic data and information on political milestones will correct shortcomings of analyses based on anecdotes, case studies, and information limited to economics or international relations. The events data base will be made available to the scholarly community.
