RIEB Discussion Paper Series No.2021-04

Title

A Neglected Japanese Efficient Market Theorist: Yamagata Bantō (1748–1821) and His 1806 Writing

Abstract

This paper discusses Yamagata Bantō's contribution to modern financial economics in his book On Great Knowledge, which first appeared in 1806. Bantō, a 19th-century Japanese scholar, clearly discusses the process by which the Osaka-Dōjima rice-market gathers information from various regions and reflects it in prices. His academic environment and experience as a merchant allowed him to see the idea of informational efficiency in exchange markets. His discussion of informational efficiency was not in line with the Confucian framework. This differs from the traditional interpretation that all his economic ideas originate from that conceptual framework.

Inquiries

Yasuo TAKATSUKI
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration
Kobe University
Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe
657-8501 Japan
Phone: +81-78-803-7036
FAX: +81-78-803-7059

Taro HISAMATSU
Faculty of Commerce, Doshisha University