This paper explores, using panel data of Japan, whether automobile inspections help to reduce accidents. Two innovations introduced by this paper are the control of endogeneity by the 2sls fixed effects model and the taking into account of norm enforcement in order to control the omitted...

The number of suicides in Japan has substantially increased during its low growth period. The main argument of Durkheim’s (1951) seminal work in the field of sociology is that suicide is under influences of not only individual traits but also of the society one belongs to. Recently it was...

Using Japan’s prefecture-level panel data from 1989-2001, this paper examines the influence of the social norm on a person’s smoking behavior when the complementary relationship between smoking and drinking is taken into account. The key findings through a dynamic panel model controlling for...

This paper explores, using panel data of traffic accidents in Japan, how formal and informal deterrence affect driving manners. I found through fixed effects and fixed effects 2SLS estimations that formal deterrents, such as police, cause drivers to drive attentively but that this effect is not...

Recently the Japanese film industry revived after a long period of decline. This has been accompanied by structural changes characterized by the present growth of multiplexes and consumer demand. This paper attempts to explore the recent revival process of the film industry in Japan using panel...

The empirical results through a fixed effects regression model show that the initial level of productivity has a negative effect on the contribution of efficiency to productivity growth, which implies that technological catch-up has done much to cause economic convergence among countries....

In this article, I explore the interaction effects of social networks and local spillovers in the diffusion of computers using the panel data from 47 Japanese prefectures for the years 1988-2000. Controlling for unobserved prefecture-specific fixed effects and an endogeneity bias of the lagged...

The seminal work of Gerschenkron (1962) stated that latecomers borrow advanced technology from their predecessors, resulting in convergence of productivity among nations. Additionally, the diffusion of technology among developing nations has been fulfilled not only directly from developed...

Although natural disasters have been found to influence economic growth, their impact on income inequality has not yet been explored. This paper uses cross-country panel data during the period 1965 to 2004 to examine how the occurrence of natural disasters has affected income inequality. The...

This paper uses inter-country panel data obtained during the period 1990 to 2010 to examine how the occurrence of natural disasters has affected corruption within the public sector. There are a number of major findings from this study. (1) Natural disasters lead to corruption within the public...