The Rise and Fall of the Kobe Economy from the 1995 Earthquake

抄録

Twenty years ago, a catastrophic earthquake hit the second largest economy in Japan, causing damages to a considerable number of houses, buildings, lifelines, and infrastructure. The total damage was estimated to be around 2% of the Japanese GDP at that time. Reconstruction plans were set and had progressed since then. The progress of recovery and reconstruction has been studied from various angles. With regard to economic recovery, a series of studies pointed out that after a short period of reconstruction-boom, the Hyogo Prefecture and the City of Kobe have been showing a declining trend. Under the 10-year reconstruction plans, the damaged region went through a recovery and rebuilding process; nevertheless, these plans could not bring back the damaged economy to the pre-event growth trend. The reconstruction plans were intended not to restore the pre-event conditions but to maintain the long-range development plans initiated before the event. Further, this decision might have contributed to the downturns in economic recovery in the middle-run; however, it is expected that it would lead the economy toward sustained growth in the long-run.