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"Soft-Budget Constraints and Local Expenditures"
Get PDFThis paper investigates how the soft budget constraint with grants from the central government to local governments tends to exaggerate inefficient local expenditures. We first develop a theoretical model, which explains soft budget problem in a multi-government setting. We then show that in Japan's case local governments implemented inefficient public investments and hence the bad outcome of soft budget problem occurred in the 1990s.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Abstract Precautionary Saving and Employment Risk in the 1990s *
No full textThis paper analyzes the reason that Japan’s household saving rate rose in the 1990s. The unemployment rate as well as saving rate of workers ’ households was increasing in the 1990s, and growth rate of disposable income was decreasing in the late 1990s. The evidence may imply that an increase in the saving rate is explained by precautionary saving motive among growing uncertainty (risk) concerning future income and employment. An increase in income risk means that households’ expectation of future income becomes more uncertain. This paper investigates this evidence, and finds that correlation between Japan’s saving rate of workers ’ households (using data for the Family Income and Expenditure Survey) and the income risk is significantly positive during the full sample period (from 1976 to 1998), but not significantly positive in the recent years. Therefore it is concluded that the increase in Japan’s household saving rate in the 1990s is not explained by precautionary saving hypothesis with the income risk. To explain recent movements in the saving rate, this paper examines whether or not the hypothesis in any other means is supported. We find that correlatio
Poverty traps with Local Allocation Tax grants in Japan
No full textThis paper investigates poverty traps with the Local Allocation Tax (LAT) grants in Japan. The LAT grants, which distributed to local governments by the central government, may be hesitated to make efforts for enhancing regional economic growth, due to the calculation of the LAT grants. We show that the LAT grants give a disincentive to increase their estimated tax revenue and lower regional income by a simple dynamic model. Based on implication of our model, the panel Granger (non-)causality tests are implemented. We find that there are poverty traps due to the LAT grants in Japan.
A missing link in decentralization reform in Japan: ‘Trinity Reform Package
No full textIn June 2003, the Koizumi administration created the "Trinity Reform Package. " In this context, "trinity " means the decentralization reform process that involves three factors: local tax, local allocation tax grant and national government disbursement. There is, however, a missing link in the reform. This is local bond, which is one of major revenue source for local governments. In particular, system of local bond has a very close relationship with local allocation tax system. Local allocation tax grant also covers debt service expenditure at the local level. Hence, the system itself undermines the sound issuance of local bonds. Moreover current local bond system does not result in awareness as debtors. In this paper, we build a simple theoretical model describing the Japanese local system, and propose a comprehensive decentralization reform including local bond
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