This paper analyzes the effect of government subsidy policies on creating an incentive for domestic firms to improve their product quality before exporting to an outside market. The goal of the government is to minimize the time it takes to reach the appropriate product quality level at low...

This paper uses panel data from Japan to decompose productivity growth measured by the growth of output per labour unit into three components of efficiency improvement, capital accumulation and technological progress. It then examines their determinants through a dynamic panel model. This paper...

In the present paper, the inverted-U shape relationship between economic growth and inequality found in Chen (2003) is re-examined. We decompose productivity growth into efficiency improvement, capital accumulation and technological progress and then ascertain their determinants by employing...

Empirical results through a fixed effects regression model show that technological catch-up is three times as effective as capital deepening but both have done much to cause economic convergence among Japanese prefectures (regions). Results are contrary to existing research on East Asian growth...

This paper explores how an early leader's choices influence later followers' choices via social interaction, and to what extent this sequential behavior enhances industrial development by using the long-term data of Japanese professional baseball. Major findings make it evident that the "Leader"...

Ethnic heterogeneity influences economic growth through various channels such as efficiency improvement and capital accumulation. However, it is not settled exactly as to how ethnic heterogeneity affects these channels. Hence, this paper attempts to examine the effects of heterogeneity on...

In this research, using a panel data set for the Japan Professional Baseball League (JPBL) during the post-WWII period, we apply the technique developed by Hobijn and Franses (2000) to examine the competitive balance from the view point of convergence and its effect upon game attendance. The...