Japan and the World Economy最新文献

Factory location in large urban areas is more difficult today as the sites are more likely to be used for residential and commercial facilities. This study investigates factors behind factory land use change, based on the redevelopment theory. Estimation is made using 1,824 land-use data in Osaka, a large urban area in Japan, between 2013 and 2018. Our new insight is that the diseconomy of the mixed land-use greatly impacts the land redevelopment of factory sites. In addition, the loose restriction of zoning districts and lack of localization economies of the factory also promote factory land redevelopment.

On the basis of a sample of 19 countries and using sign-restricted VAR and second-stage regression, this research investigates whether there exist differences in the effects of monetary shocks on output and prices between countries, and, if any, which country characteristics incur such differences. The VAR analysis shows that monetary policy shocks of the same magnitude generate differences in terms of the effects on output and prices between countries. The maximal responses of industrial production indexes to a 25-basis-point shock policy rate cut range from a decrease to an over 3% increase with an average of about 1–2% increase. Those of consumer price indexes range from 0.3% to around a 2% increase, with an average of 0.9% increase. The results from regression analysis imply that various country characteristics engender disparities in the responses to monetary policy shocks. The magnitude of the output responses to monetary policy shocks is larger in countries with a monetary policy framework closer to inflation-targeting, a more flexible exchange rate regime, more rapid population aging, and a more rigid labor market, and is smaller in countries with a more independent central bank and a more developed financial market. The size of the price responses is larger in countries with higher trade openness and a more rigid labor market, and smaller in countries with a monetary policy framework closer to inflation-targeting and more rapid population aging.

This paper examines how instruction time affects students’ cognitive ability and motivation. It uses data obtained from the responses of 4th-grade Japanese students from the international academic survey “Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.” The study estimates a fixed effects model using within-student between-subject variation, which, in 2002, caused a reduction in instruction time due to the revision of curriculum guidelines in Japan. To remove teachers’ fixed effects, the sample was restricted to students taught by the same teacher. The results demonstrate that instruction time positively affects student test scores and two out of three motivation variables (Like and Positive). This result suggests that the 2002 educational reform negatively impacted students’ cognitive and non-cognitive abilities. Further, instruction time had different effects on test scores and motivation variables (Like and Positive) for students’ and teachers’ gender. Additionally, instruction time also positively impacted scores and motivation variables (Like, or Like and Positive) in combination with teachers who had experience of ten or more years and students who had time to study at home.

The Bank of Japan has purchased long-term Japanese government bonds under the Quantitative and Qualitative Monetary Easing (QQE). To study monetary policy after the Bank of Japan exits the QQE, we develop a model in which the fiscal authority commits: (ⅰ) not to making fiscal adjustments needed to stabilize government debt and (ⅱ) not to providing financial supports for the central bank that incurs losses on its balance sheet due to a decline in the price of long-term bonds. Within this framework, this study investigates how the interaction between these commitments reduces the ability of monetary policy to control inflation after liftoff from the zero lower bound. We consider a situation in which the central bank that holds long-term bonds raises the nominal interest rates and show two key results: (ⅰ) when the Taylor principle is violated, under certain conditions, inflation right after liftoff cannot overshoot the central bank’s target; (ⅱ) when the central bank follows the Taylor principle, under certain conditions, it cannot prevent the economy from converging to the deflationary steady state.

This study explores individuals’ interests and actions in angel investing. Using a sample of Japanese individuals who are interested and engage in general investing obtained from original survey data, we examine whether risk aversion and subjective time discounting are associated with angel investing. To provide a clear picture of potential and actual angel investors, we classify individuals’ attitudes toward angel investing into “no interest,” “interest only,” and “action.” By estimating the marginal effects of risk aversion on angel investment, we find that individuals’ risk aversion is negatively associated with their angel investment actions; that is, individuals with a higher degree of risk aversion are less likely to engage in angel investing. We also find that wealthy individuals are more likely to engage in angel investing. Moreover, among individuals with entrepreneurial experience, subjective time discounting is positively associated with their angel investment actions, suggesting that entrepreneurs with higher subjective time discounting are more likely to engage in angel investing.

This study examines the market responses to announcements of stocks with different trading activities that disclose earnings during and outside normal trading hours. For less actively traded stocks, when bad news is reported after the market closes, potential informed trading exists, along with heightened return reversals and market inefficiency before the release. These informed trading activities are partially responsible for the post-announcement preopening price adjustments. Although the after-release preopening period for inactive stocks does not significantly facilitate price discovery as much as for active stocks, it provides an environment to resolve order imbalances after overnight information.

The EU plans to introduce a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) to curb carbon leakage and to protect energy-intensive and trade-exposed (EITE) industries. This move by the EU to introduce CBAMs has raised concerns in Japan that it will harm Japanese industry and the Japanese economy. To address these concerns, this study tries to provide an ex ante and quantitative analysis of the economic and environmental effects of the introduction of the EU CBAM. To capture the effects of the EU CBAM, this study employs a global multiregional, multisector computable general equilibrium model with 18 sectors and 17 regions. The main insights obtained from the analysis are as follows. First, we find that the introduction of the EU CBAM significantly reduces carbon leakage from the EU. Second, the effects of the introduction of CBAMs on the GDP and welfare of each country vary from country to country, but the effects are generally very small. While there is a positive impact on GDP and welfare in Japan, the magnitude of the impact is very small. There will also be a negative impact on Japan’s EITE industries, but the magnitude of this impact is very small and not of great concern.

To promote renewable energy deployment, Japan introduced a feed-in tariff policy in 2012, financed through a surcharge on electricity prices for consumers. The Japanese government also offered a discount system for electricity-intensive industrial plants, exempting them from paying full surcharges. Using monthly plant-level data from 2005 to 2018, this study evaluated the exemption system’s impact on electricity and fossil fuel consumption for plants in the iron and steel, chemical products, and pulp and paper sectors. Our results show that the exempted iron and steel plants decreased electricity purchase and consumption 18.62% and 17.88% after 2017, respectively. This decrease is attributed to the introduction of an electricity efficiency after 2017. It is worth noting, however, that the revision of the scheme did not affect the chemical, pulp and paper sectors. In this sense, a stronger efficiency requirement might be warranted to ensure the decrease in electricity consumption for all sectors. Nevertheless, we estimate that roughly 7 million tCO₂ have been avoided thanks to the decrease in electricity consumption in the iron and steel sector.

This study examines the impact of a monetary policy by the Bank of Japan on households’ willingness to borrow, that was announced on October 31, 2014. This policy, known as Kuroda Bazooka, was not anticipated by the private sector; therefore, it could be regarded as an exogenous shock. To estimate the effects of the Kuroda Bazooka, this study used interrupted time series analysis, a technique often used in medicine, but not yet widely used in economics. The analysis of the data before and after the shock shows that the Kuroda Bazooka increased household borrowing intentions by approximately 10 %. This result suggests that although there was not much change in households’ aggregate borrowing, there was a change in their intention to borrow. Therefore, a monetary policy that merely changes expectations may not be effective.

We synthetically assess the three major transmission channels of international business cycles: bilateral trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and portfolio investment flows between countries, while considering country-time heterogeneity with multiple fixed effects. Using the data of 65 countries during 2004–2019, we find that real and financial integration generates heterogeneous impacts on business cycle comovement. Trade integration, particularly through intermediate input trade, drives business cycle synchronization, and its impact has been more pronounced after the global financial crisis. This may be due to deepening intra-industry trade and dense global value chains. We also find greenfield FDI leads to business cycle synchronization when considering its time-lags. Higher short-term debt market integration is also associated with more synchronized business cycle comovement, implying that balance sheet effects and the related credit cycle can exert influence on business cycle comovement.