Using high-frequency scan-based data on purchases by households compiled by a market research firm, this paper examines changes in consumption patterns in the period of confusion immediately after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. In particular, we focus on the panic buying of foods and daily...

The second “Family and Lifestyle Survey” is a registered consumer tester-based survey designed to collect information about (1) the basic attributes, education, job history, and quality of life of households in Japan; (2) household receipts of gifts and inheritances; (3) household income and...

The "Family and Lifestyle Survey" is a registered consumer tester-based survey designed to collect information on (1) basic household attributes, education, and employment history; (2) parent household attributes (including education and employment history); (3) household asset holdings...

This paper looks for statistical evidence of match-rigging by yokozuna (grand champions) in Japanese sumo, which previous studies have not yet examined. The results suggest that yokozuna, too, have been involved in match-rigging, suggesting that economic incentives play an important role in...

This paper first develops a simple model to show that incentives for match-rigging in professional sumo differ depending on the rank to which a wrestler belongs. While incentives for match-rigging can arise for wrestlers in the top divisions (sekitori), few incentives arise for...

Habit formation in consumption has important implications for the effects of macroeconomic policies. Using micro data from the Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers (JPSC) for the period 1998-2004, an Euler equation à la Dynan (2000) allowing for time-nonseparablity in consumer preferences is...