Library and Information Science

This study is based on an analysis of over 7000 references drawn from 430 articles of a Japanese journal, the Journal of economics (Univ. of Tokyo; Keizaigaku ronshu) in the period 1931–44, with the aim of discovering the nature of materials used by Japanese economists and showing what they regarded as the important works in economics in pre- and mid-war Japan.

It was found that 1) 26.5 per cent of all references were to ‘journals’, i.e., the relative importance of the nonperiodical literature was considerably great. 2) 67.8 per cent of all references were in foreign languages: 38.8% in German, 24.1% in English, and 4.9% in other languages. Japanese economists depended greatly upon research materials in foreign languages, especially in German. 3) 18 Japanese titles covered more than 50% references to domestic journals, and 14 foreign titles to foreign journals. 4) the median citation age of the references to ‘journals’ was 4.2 years old. 5) Japanese economists depended greatly upon research works of foreign economists, especially of Werner Sombart and of Joseph Alois Schumpeter.