Classified broadly, two motives for intra-family transfers exist: altruism and selfishness. This paper examines two selfish hypotheses − the exchange motive (strategic bequest motive)and the demonstration effect − using a new Japanese micro data set. My analysis of the determinants of...

The statutory minimum wage has steadily increased for decades in Japan, while the median wage has fallen nominally since 1999 because of a severe recession. We use large micro-data sets from two government surveys to investigate how the minimum wage has affected the wage distribution under...

Classified broadly, two motives for intra-family transfers exist: altruism and selfishness. This paper examines two selfish hypotheses - the exchange motive (strategic bequest motive)and the demonstration effect - using a new Japanese micro data set. My analysis of the determinants of...

In this paper, we analyze the nature of intra-household allocations and commitment using unique panel data on individual-specific within-household consumption expenditures and on time used for leisure, market production and home production. Specifically we estimate a dynamic collective model of...

We find that relative wages have a strong impact on the wife's weight in the household problem at the time of marriage. We also find that, during marriage, unpredicted deviations in the relative wage impact on this weight, but the magnitude is substantially smaller, and is only statistically...

In this paper we document the main features of the distributions of wages, earnings, consumption and wealth in Japan since the early 1980s using four main data sources: the Basic Survey on Wage Structure (BSWS), the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES), the National Survey of Family...

Wage inequality declined in the 1990s for full-time male workers in Japan, while it in- creased in the 2000s. We find that a decreased return to firm-specific human capital, which has been neglected in previous empirical analyses of inequality, is a key factor preventing a rise in wage...

Classified broadly, two motives for intra-family transfers exist: altruism and selfishness. This paper examines two selfish hypotheses | the exchange motive (strategic bequest motive)and the demonstration effect | using a new Japanese micro data set. My analysis of the determinants of...

The median wage in Japan has fallen nominally since 1999 due to a severe recession, while the statutory minimum wage has steadily increased over the same period. We used large micro-data sets from two government surveys to investigate how the minimum wage has affected wage distribution under the...

This paper provides structural estimates of heterogeneous returns to work experience for Japanese married women. A dynamic model of labor force participation is used to account for dynamic self-selection into employment. Heterogeneity is incorporated into the model in a way that allows for the...