IT CAPITAL AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN JAPAN

This article presents an empirical investigation of the role of IT（Information Technology）capital in the Japanese macroeconomy, with a particular focus on the adjustment of IT capital stock. We use the Translog model in this study and treat IT capital as the only quasi-fixed factor. We found that the shadow price of IT capital was largely decreased, and that there was a significant difference in the shadow prices between the beginning of the measurement periods and in recent years. There was also a high investment incentive in most periods. We found evidence for the contribution of IT capital to labor productivity, and our findings are consistent with the proposition that IT capital contributes to output growth.