Market-based financing for small corporations during early industrialisation: The case of salt corporations in Japan, 1880s–1910s

This study investigates how small corporations in rural areas of Japan obtained funding from the 1880 s through the 1910s and reassesses the role of market-based financing for Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While most previous literature shows that Japan effectively used bank-based financing for SMEs, this study provides evidence that corporations of various sizes, including small ones in rural areas, arranged funding through the stock and bond markets during Japan’s early industrialisation period. While this type of financing arrangement helped promote early industrialisation, it also strengthened the dual economy during full-fledged industrialisation.