Using a monthly survey, this paper finds that supporters of the governing cabinet are significantly happier than non-supporters throughout our sample period. We investigate the reason and examine two hypotheses: 1) happy persons support the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and 2) supporters of...

Using a monthly survey, this paper finds that supporters of the governing cabinet are significantly happier than non-supporters throughout our sample period. We investigate the reason and examine two hypotheses: 1) happy persons support the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and 2) supporters of...

This paper investigates the individual outcomes of irrational thinking, including paranormality and non-scientific thinking. These modes of thinking are identified by factor analysis from a 2008 survey. Income and happiness are used as measures of performance. Empirical results reveal that...

In this paper we analyze the relation between the preferred prefecture to live and their regional characteristics in Japan using the data of questionnaire survey conducted by GCOE program of Osaka University in 2009 and 2010. We found: 1) Most people are satisfied with the current residential...

In this paper we estimate the regional disparity of income and happiness between prefectures using the results of questionnaire survey conducted by 21st Century COE program of Osaka University from 2003 to 2006. We found the followings. 1) Three measures of disparity, multiple comparisons,...

The positive relationship between trust and happiness has been demonstrated by the literature. However, it is not clear how much this relationship depends on environmental conditions. The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 is considered one of the most catastrophic events in human history. This...

This paper uses panel data from Japan to explore how the Great East Japan Earthquake influenced the intention to leave one’s place of residence by comparing the same individuals’ responses before and after the earthquake. Controlling for unobserved individual fixed effects and various...

Empirical results based on individual-level data from Japan were studied to determine the effect of social capital on the willingness to leave one's residential area. It was found that social capital accumulated through one's own experience in a residential area is not the only factor that...

The positive relationship between trust and happiness has been demonstrated by the literature. However, it is not clear how much this relationship depends on environmental conditions. The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 is considered one of the most catastrophic events in human history. This...

This paper uses panel data from Japan to explore how the Great East Japan Earthquake influenced the intention to leave one's place of residence by comparing the same individuals' responses before and after the earthquake. Controlling for unobserved individual fixed effects and various individual...