ABSTRACT
It is well known that a number of Japanese economists such as Takashi Negishi (b.1933) have made important contributions to international economics, especially to the theory of international trade, which is generally described as ‘pure’ when directly following Marshall (Bhagwati 1964: 1). Negishi is one of the economists who utilized the general equilibrium approach and the method of mathematical programming in pure theory of trade. Many economists occasionally reference earlier trade theories and the history of economic thought in their study of trade theory. Nonetheless, Negishi is unique in the sense that he has made thought-provoking contributions to the history of economic theory by interpreting early economics literature and using new analytical tools and insights. Although economists like Negishi (and Murray C. Kemp) concentrated on theoretical research, other international economists like H.G. Johnson, J. Bhagwati, Max Corden, and Peter B. Kennen also contributed to the discussion of international economic policy issues and had opportunity to express their judgments cautiously while observing ongoing current conditions. However, at the same time they have all been careful of choosing relevant assumptions when they write scientific papers in trade theories and build relevant models for their discussion themes. They do economics by following a different line from Milton Friedman’s methodology of positive economics, which puts emphasis on the usefulness of economic theories in predicting future economic courses and explaining past events rather than choosing assumptions reflecting economic reality (Friedman 1953).1
