A university long-distance relay road race, the Hakone Ekiden, is widely acknowledged as the most popular New Yearfs sporting event in Japan. The event is held immediately prior to the university application period in Japan. Using Japanese panel data for 2001-2014, this study examined how the...

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....

It is well known that height is positively associated with earnings. Based on individual level data, this paper investigates the channels through which height influences income in China. Our first key finding is that taller people are more likely to become members of the Communist Party,...

Experiences in childhood are hypothesized to influence preference formation for redistribution in adulthood. For example, eldest male children who suffer loss because of parental redistribution are less likely to endorse government-mandated redistributions as an adult. In contrast, younger...

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate whether natural disasters enhance efficiency improvement, capital accumulation and technological progress. Further, this paper examines whether the influence of naturals disasters depends on the legal origin. Design/methodology/approach – For this...

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...

Conflict can cause negative externalities to arise, and this can result in economic loss. Such externalities are also thought to influence individualsf perceptions about economic issues. Acemoglu and Robinson (2000) provide their hypothesis that the political elite extend the franchise to avoid...

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

This paper used individual level data in Japan to explore how a complainant's past trial experience influences their satisfaction and incentive to bring a future lawsuit. Controlling for kinds of incidents and a complainant's individual characteristics, the major findings were; (1) there is a...

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