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Determinants of household’s housing condition in Urban China: A study based on NBS panel data
Get PDFWith rapid economic growth and dramatic progress in the market–oriented reform on housing systems since the 1ate 1980s, the housing conditions in urban China have improved significantly. On the other hand, it is widely believed that the introduction of market mechanisms has led to the rise of housing inequality among urban households.
Based on panel data of the NBS survey (2004-2007), this paper measures housing inequality among urban households in 162 cities, and examines the determinants of individual household’s housing conditions in China. We find that in the period investigated, there exists a rising trend in housing inequality among urban households.
However, the rise of inequality is not simply the result of the market–oriented reform.
Our panel analysis demonstrates that although the income factors such as “Household Total Income” have dominant effects on the probability of owning a market-price (i.e., high price) house, the probability of owning a low-price house or renting a public house provided by the government is still significantly affected by some non-income factors, including the employment sectors of household members, and their Hukou (registered residence status). As a whole, both income/market and non-income/institution factors have effects on the probability of having a resident-owned house as well as on the house size. More interestingly, compared to Peking and Shanghai, the two most developed cities in China, the household housing conditions of the rest 160 cities included in the survey receive stronger influence from the old housing allocation system and Hukou system. It means that in the mid-2000s the rising housing inequality in urban China should be the result of a combined influence from ongoing market–oriented reforms and the persisting impact of some traditional systems.working pape
FAMINE AND WEALTH INEQUALITY
Get PDFDiscussions around the growing difference in wealth, as well as its distribution, has gained prominent attention recently. What are the possible causes that could potentially contribute to the difference in wealth and its distribution? In this paper, we propose a novel reason, i.e., famine. We combine contemporary individual-level wealth data with historical data on famine severity in China and show that exposure to famine has a negative effect on the wealth of individuals born during this period. We further pursue a number of strategies to determine whether the relation we uncover is, in fact, causal.working pape
Was the Expansion of Housing Credit in Japan Good or Bad?
Get PDFThis paper shows, using data from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, that housing credit has become increasingly available over time in Japan, especially since 2000, and that this has made it easier for Japanese households to purchase housing and enabled them to do so at an earlier age. However, it also shows that the greater availability of housing credit has increased households’ housing loan repayment burden, which has resulted in their cutting back on their other consumption expenditures and created the potential for retirement insecurity. Another concern is that the increasing availability of housing credit has been accompanied by a pronounced shift from fixed-rate to variablerate housing loans. This is cause for concern given the low level of financial literacy that prevails among the Japanese population and the likelihood that interest rates on variablerate housing loans will be raised sooner or later as monetary policy is tightened.working pape
Does National Diversity Increase Team Performance? Evidence from a Sports Labor Market in India
Get PDFIn this report, I present the results of research conducted as a part of Research Project entitled “Empirical analysis of the impact of organizational diversity of performance” during the Fiscal Year 2019. The main objective of this project was to empirically analyze the impact of national diversity on team performance.
As the movement of people is common these days, national diversity in the workforce is currently seen everywhere in the world. For example, CEOs of famous companies such as Apple, Google, and PepsiCo are foreign-born executives. Similarly, more than half of the IT professionals in the Silicon Valley in the US are born overseas. The trend towards national diversity seems to continue in the future due to numerous social issues and policy changes in various countries. For example, the Japanese government amended its policy towards accepting more migrant workers to work in Japan corresponding to the decline in the labor force population and labor shortage in various sectors. Furthermore, as the movement of people tends to increase due to various political and social upheavals such as; the refugee crisis in Myanmar and in the Middle East, civil wars and conflicts in Africa, diversity in the workforce will increase as these migrants assimilate into the society. It is, therefore, necessary to examine how such changes would affect the performance of an organization.
In order to conduct empirical research, this research analyzed the dataset from a sports labor market in India. I concentrated on sports industry as the sports statistics are much more detailed and accurate than typical microdata samples such as Census or various survey dataset.
In particular, I empirically examined the impact of national diversity on team performance from Indian Premier League (IPL), the largest cricket league in the world. I concentrate on the sports of cricket as we have various kinds of performance as our outcome variable. In some performance, communication along with skill plays a vital role whereas in others communication is minimum. In this way, we can measure the mechanism behind difference in performance. Furthermore, I concentrate on IPL as all teams are governed by standardized rules of competition that could eliminate unobservable factors that would affect the power of the study.
Considering more than 1000 team level diversity and performance indicators, I tried to answer the following three questions. Does more diversity of a workforce increase team performance (intra-horizontal diversity)? Does a more diverse team succeed if it is competing against a less diverse team (inter-horizontal diversity)? Does a team perform better if the leader is from majority group (vertical diversity)?
From the empirical analysis, I did not find any statistically significant relationship between intra-horizontal diversity and team performance. Performance is unaffected by the higher intra horizontal diversity of a team. However, I found a positive and statistically significant relationship between inter-team horizontal diversity and performance where communication is low. And finally, I found a negative and statistically significant relationship between vertical diversity and the overall performance of a team. The results suggest that performance is negatively affected by the vertical diversity of a team. Finally, I provide various important policy implications as well as limitations of this research.
I am grateful to the Asian Growth research Institute (AGI) for its financial support of this research. I am grateful to Masaru Sasaki, Fumio Ohtake, Nobuyoshi Kikuchi, Hideo Owan, Kawaguchi Daiji, and other participants of the Labor Economics Conference in Japan for their valuable comments. I am solely responsible for all remaining errors, contents, and opinions expressed in this paper.research repor
九州における地域間人口移動の確率分析
Get PDF公益財団法人アジア成長研究所は，東南アジア諸国を含む東アジア諸国の経済社会発展に関する諸問題を研究し，関連する諸事業を実施し，その研究成果を地元行政や経済界で利用していただくことを目的としています。グローバリゼーションという大きな潮流の中で，地元経済に与える影響も日増しに高まっていくことが予想されます。そのため，東アジア諸国の研究を進めると同時に国内ならびに地元経済の動向についても研究していく必要が生じております。
本調査報告書は，このような地元経済の動向を把握する目的で，平成 31（令和元）年度は研究プロジェクト「九州における地域間人口移動の確率分析」を実施しました。研究代表者のこれまでの研究成果を踏まえたうえで，経済活動の基礎となる人口動向・移動について，確率モデルを用いて将来の予測を行い，政策立案の基礎情報を提供しています。具体的には，公表されている地域間の人口移動データから，ある地域からある地域への人口移動を確率として推計することができる点に着目し，これがいわゆるマルコフ連鎖の推移確率行列の役割を果たしていることから，研究を始めております。そして，推移確率行列が分かると，それを繰り返し掛けることで，人口の地域分布の将来予測ができるのですが，マルコフ連鎖の特徴として，それ以上掛け合わせても，分布が変化しないことが知られており，この時の人口分布を収束分布と呼び，これと公表データとを比較します。この方法を，九州を中心に様々な地域区分により分析を進めることで，報告書が構成されています。
本報告書が，地元北部九州経済の動向を知るための資料として，地元の発展にいささかなりとも貢献できることを願うものであります。research repor
主要都市におけるSDGsへの取り組み状況と北九州市が今後実施すべき施策
Get PDF「持続可能な開発目標（SDGs：Sustainable Development Goals）」とは， 2015 年 9 月の国連持続可能な国際サミットで全会一致1で採択された「我々の世界を変革する持続可能な開発のための 2030 アジェンダ（行動計画）」の中核をなす世界的開発目標である。社会変革に向けて高邁な理想を掲げたグローバルスケールの行動規範であり，その内容を特徴づけるものとして「新たな人権宣言」，「新たな社会契約」等の理念が国連の主要文書等に示されている（村上，2019，p．6）。またその理念は，①包摂性（誰一人取り残さない），②普遍性（途上国，先進国も同様に），③多様性（国，自治体，企業，コミュニティまで），④統合性（経済・社会・環境の統合性），⑤行動性（進捗管理の徹底），といったキーワードで表現することができる（村上，2019，p．6）。具体的には，17 のゴールと，それぞれのゴールの下に合計 169 のターゲットが掲げられ，232 のインディケーター（評価指標）が設定されている。
これを受けて，日本では内閣官房に推進本部が設置され（本部長：内閣総理大臣），関係省庁の連携及び政府，地方自治体の協力関係の下で，官民一体による推進が積極的に図られている。
SDGs では，過去の MDGs 策定の際の経験と反省を踏まえ，国家レベルのみならず公民のあらゆるレベル2での取り組みの重要性が謳われており，そのような意味からも自治体レベルにおける取り組みが大いに期待される（自治体 SDGs ガイドライン検討委員会，2018，pp．6～7）。実際に，国連の各加盟国やその自治体などに対して，2030 年にむけて SDGs におけるそれぞれのゴールを目指した総合的な取り組みを具体的に実施することが強く求められている。しかしながら一方で，SDGs の実行段階における障害として，①多すぎる目標，②理解が容易でない，導入方法がわからない，③法的拘束力がない，指標のためのデータの未整備，などの問題点が指摘されている（村上，2019，p．7）。
本調査研究の委託元である北九州市は，過去の公害克服の経験を含め国内外から様々な評価を受けているなど，SDGs 関連分野において日本を代表する自治体である3。そのため北九州市には，SDGs への更なる先進的取り組みによって，他自治体を牽引する役割が期待されている。以上の背景から，本調査研究では国内主要都市における SDGs への取り組み調査及び成功事例を含めた企業の取り組み状況を調査し，北九州市が取り組むべき事項について検討し，提言を行うことを目的とする。research repor
Impacts of enterprise zones on local households in Vietnam
Get PDFBased on the “winner-loser” scheme, we examine the possible impacts of enterprise zones (EZs) on local Vietnamese households between 2002 and 2008, using differences-indifferences approach and a panel-event study. We layer four waves of household surveys using a census of EZs in 2007, based on the same commune identity for our household and individual analyses. Within five years of EZ establishment, we find they are associated with higher household incomes, an increase in private property prices, and an increase in working hours.
However, we do not find a significant impact on household living expenditure or school attendance/working probabilities among members aged between 7 and 17 years. Neither do we find a significant impact on health outcomes.working pape
The impact of Confucianism on gender inequality in Vietnam
Get PDFWe quantified influences of Confucianism on gender inequality in present-day Vietnam. We used the number (or density) of the most successful test takers in the Vietnamese imperial examinations (1075–1919) in a given district as a proxy for mastering the subject of Confucianism. Using an instrumental variable approach, we considered possible impacts on sex ratio and educational attainment of women relative to men, based on test score and population census data. We found that Confucianism has a long lasting impact on gender inequality. The results also suggested that women tended to try harder, perhaps as a countermeasure against discrimination.working pape
Is the Selfish Life-Cycle Model More Applicable in Japan and, If So, Why? A Literature Survey
Get PDFThe selfish life-cycle model or hypothesis is, together with the dynasty or altruism model, the most widely used theoretical model of household behavior in economics, but does this model apply in the case of a country like Japan, which is said to have closer family ties than other countries? In this paper, we first provide a brief exposition of the simplest version of the selfish life-cycle model and then survey the literature on household saving and bequest behavior in Japan in order to answer this question. The paper finds that almost all of the available evidence suggests that the selfish life-cycle model applies to at least some extent in all countries but that there is more consistent support for this model in Japan than in the United States and other countries. It then explores possible explanations for why the life-cycle model is more consistently supported in Japan than in other countries, attributing this finding to government policies, institutional factors, economic factors, demographic factors, and cultural factors. Finally, it shows that the findings of the paper have many important implications for economic modeling and for government tax and expenditure policies.working pape
港湾の競争力と持続可能性およびその影響要因に関する研究
Get PDF筆者らは，これまでも，港湾を中心とした国際海上物流の研究を行ってきた。そのような一連の研究を行ってきた動機の第一は，激しい都市間競争にさらされている北九州市を念頭に，製造業を中心とする地域産業を下支えする物流拠点としての港湾の競争力を高めるための政策提言を行うことであった。
北九州港は，日本国内で見れば九州の玄関口であり，また東アジアに目を向ければ，中国・韓国から日本への玄関口に位置している。地理的には好条件に恵まれており，さらに，製造業を中心とした後背地の産業集積，高速道路や内航海運網などを含めた物流ネットワークにおける拠点性など，数多くの長所を備えている。その一方で，博多港など近隣の港湾との競争環境下にあること，手狭な用地や施設の老朽化，６大港のひとつであることによる規制など，様々な障壁を抱えている。
そのような状況を打開する施策として，① Ro-Ro 船の活用，②近隣港との協調と競争，③東アジアとの接続強化を軸とした施策提案を行なってきた。ただし，これまでの研究においては，港湾の競争力については定性的な分析にとどまっており，施策の優先順位の決定や施策効果の定量評価などの分析・議論ができていなかった。
そこで本研究では，港湾の競争力が港湾の取扱貨物量に集約されているとの考えに基づき，港湾統計の月次時系列データを用いて，北九州港の国際コンテナ貨物取扱量を多角的に分析することを試みる。第 2 章では，本研究で用いるデータについて，その入手方法および入手データの概要について解説している。第 3 章では，時系列データの季節変動を処理する方法について解説し，それをコンテナ取扱貨物量に適応した結果を示している。また，北九州港のコンテナ貨物量の変動要因について考察した。第 4 章では，コンテナ貨物取扱量の推移データを時系列データとみなし，VAR（ベクトル自己回帰）モデルや ICA（独立成分分析）などの分析手法を適用する試みについて述べている。
これらの分析の結果，時系列データをトレンド成分と周期成分および誤差に分解することで，2005 年以降の日本および北九州港・博多港のコンテナ貨物取扱量の変動を把握することができた。また，時系列分析を通して，北九州港と博多港のコンテナ取扱貨物量に競合的な関係があることを示唆する結果が得られた。さらに，独立成分分析など，これまで港湾の分析にはあまり用いられていない手法の可能性を示した。
以上から，コンテナ取扱貨物量を時系列データとみなして分析する手法に一定の目処がついたものの，当初の目的であった，施策の優先順位付けや効果の定量評価にまでは至らなかった。したがって，今後の課題としては，品目別あるいは貿易相手国別のデータの整備とその利用，港湾の後背圏における生産活動や消費活動に関係する社会経済データの利用によって，分析モデルの精度と解釈可能性を高めることが挙げられる。さらには，貨物量の将来推計についても，今後の課題として検討する必要がある。research repor