This paper examines how firms’ decision to start exporting is affected by the availability of information on export markets. Unlike existing studies which focus on information sharing among firms, we are interested in the information provided by firms’ main bank. Specifically, using a unique...

This paper studies the quantitative impact of the efficiency of lender banks on their client firms' total factor productivity. By using the panel data for bank and firm characteristics including the efficiency of banks, we empirically establish the positive correlation between the growth and the...

To understand the dynamics of the Chinese economy and Chinese firms, it is important to examine firms' export behaviors, in particular the role of foreign-owned firms in export. This paper investigates entries to and exits from export markets of Chinese firms and the relation between such...

In spite of the importance of FDI in Japan, Japan's official statistics on inward FDI have many drawbacks in comparison with U.S. statistics. Using micro data of the Establishment and Enterprise Census of Japan, we compile new statistics on the employment of Japanese affiliates of foreign firms...

This paper surveys the body of research grounded on a basic question "Did the total factor productivity (TFP) growth rate in Japan decline in the 1990s?" In addition, using industry-level data of the Japan Industrial Productivity Database (JIP database) we estimate the mark-ups and the degree of...

This study analyzes the educational achievement of immigrant children in Japan. Since foreign migrants began to enter Japan in large numbers in the early 1990s, their children, or the second generation born or raised in Japan, have largely come of age. A growing number of studies have pointed...

This paper attempted to measure the causal effect of college quality on individual earnings in subsequent life. If college quality matters, what type of college characteristics might lead to higher labor market premiums? Research conducted in US found a positive and significant labor market...

Many people have been skeptical about the economic value of going to graduate school in Japan. However, there are few empirical studies to analyze this issue. This paper estimates the private internal rate of return to postgraduate education and assesses the postgraduate wage premium in Japan....

This paper attempted to measure the causal effect of high school quality on academic achievement by estimating education production function in Japan. The authors combined school quality measures retrieved from official statistics with the large sample of twins collected through the web-based...

In this paper, we analyze the negative impacts of overeducation on wages in the Japanese youth labor market. In addition, this study assesses empirically the validity of the Human Capital Theory and Job Competition Model within the context of overeducation and undereducation. Our study uses the...