This paper explores the relation between corporate governance mechanisms in Japan and the costs of public debt financing. Using a sample of Japanese corporate bond issues during the period 2005-2008, we find that CEO ownership is associated with higher yield spreads after controlling for firm-...

I investigate the decision-making process of an owner of abandoned farmland that is currently restricted to agricultural use but will be available for nonagricultural use in the future. I find that a slight probability of land conversion greatly increases the land value and discourages the owner...

This paper presents consideration of how the social security system evolves as the attributes of voters change. In our setting, policy determination is based on majority voting. The government has two components of social security policy: a pension system and unemployment insurance. When workers...

In analyzing economic policies, a severe problem is the time-inconsistency problem. In this regard, the choice of commitment vs. discretion engenders a tradeoff of flexibility and credibility. Therefore, it might be necessary and acceptable to adopt a discretionary policy to some degree, but...

This paper specifically examines intergenerational conflict and analyzes an overlapping generations model of public goods provision from the viewpoint of time-consistency. Public goods are financed through labor-income and capital-income taxation, thereby distorting savings and the labor supply....

Fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas) are low-entropy natural resources which seem to be indispensable for our economic prosperity. This paper investigates the relationship between fossil fuel consumption and economic growth in Japan, using a multivariate model of fossil fuels, non-fossil energy, labor...

From data collected by questionnaire survey of three communes in the Kandal province of Cambodia, where public water supply remains inaccessible, this study estimates the demand function for drinking water and finds that the price elasticity is between -0.26 and -0.29. Based on this, and given...

This study develops an on-the-job search model involving spatial structure. In this model, workers are either employed and commuting frequently to a central business district (CBD) or unemployed and commuting less frequently to the CBD to search for a job. When an unemployed worker succeeds in...

This paper's objective is to design a laboratory experiment to explore the effect of Knightian uncertainty on a subject's search behavior in a finite sequential search model. Our finding is that the average search duration is shorter when there is Knightian uncertainty in the sense that the true...

This paper explores the mutual reference behavior of local governments in Japan. The Japanese public education system was decentralized in the previous decade. For example, actual fixed number of classes was relaxed in 2001 and 2003. This relaxation of regulations caused an increase in the...